Inky Lover (Bendy x Ben)
by dest6850
Summary: Ben desperately needs a job to survive and luckily finds an opening at a studio run by Mr. Drew, the son of Joey Drew. What will he discover in the studio? What inky friendships will develop?
1. Chapter 1

I sat by the dining table, skimming through the job section of the paper, desperately looking for any position that I have a chance at. Nurse? No, Waitress? Maybe, accountant? God no. I grab my red marker off the table and circle the waitress position, putting it in consideration. As I continue to look through, hoping I find something better than a waitress, I catch the ad for an animator wanted at a new studio nearby. I smile at the thought of it, I love to draw and find myself quite good, considering I drew for years with serious practice and dedication.

As I grab my phone and start to dial the number in, I hear the voice of my lovely roommate.

"Ben!"

I jump and turn my head quickly at the source. I regret looking. My roommate, Chelsea, stomps angrily towards me with a piercing glare that could kill in a second.

"I can't keep paying the rent myself, if you don't start paying up I'm gonna have to kick you out of this apartment. I'm tired of you sitting around and doing nothing while using up the stuff I paid for. If you don't pay rent next month, you're out of here" She barked.

I sat there with mixed feelings, shock, upset and worried. I watched her stomp away with keys in hand and walking out the door, slamming it loudly. I stare off in distance, lost in my worries, thinking of being homeless, cold and hungry on the streets.

I quickly grab my phone, dial the number and wait for an answer, hoping that the position is still available.

"Hello?" A man with a deep, raspy and tired voice answers.

"Hi, I'm Ben. I'm calling about the position of an animator, I'm interested and would like to set up an interview"

"Oh! Of course. Let me check to see when I'm available "

A few moments of silence pass by before I hear his voice again

"Is tomorrow at 5pm ok? " he asks.

"Of course!"

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow then. Have a nice day, Ben"

I quickly say goodbye and hang up the phone. A huge smile was plastered on my face, so happy I finally got an interview for a job.

"I finally got an interview!" I throw my hands up in celebration, not caring how crazy I must look. During my celebration I hear a loud rumble from my stomach.

"God I'm hungry, I need to eat before I die of starvation" I joke to myself.

I chuckle and get up, making my way towards the fridge. I grab leftover pizza and eat it without heating it in the microwave "If my parents could see me now they would be disappointed in my life choices" I laugh.

I make my way to my room and open the bedroom door, revealing my messy room, exposing my laziness. I sit at my tiny desk and grab my sketchbook, a pencil and an eraser. "What should I draw?" I wonder to myself. After a few moments I get an idea.

I open my book to a blank sheet and move my hand with the pencil across the blank sheet, filling it with lines, shapes and imagination. After I finish the draft and linework, I take a moment to look at my masterpiece in the process, it was just a scene in one of the episodes of Bendy. Sure it wasn't original or creative, but it's nice to have a drawing like this to add my own spark and style into it.

I check the time on my phone, it was 11:45pm. "Man it's late, I should probably sleep soon" I thought. I decided to clean up the mess tomorrow on my desk and head for my bed, not caring about changing my clothes. I turn off my lights and start to drift off.

I quickly rise from my bed, startled by the loud thud coming from outside my room. I slowly get up from my bed and head to investigate the noise.

As I approach the kitchen, I notice my roommate picking up the pot I assumed she dropped or knocked off.

"Oh, morning Chelsea" I sighed, relieved it was just my clumsy roommate and not a burglar.

She greets back groggily and returns to making herself breakfast. I look at the clock, it was 9am. "It's too early for this" I mumbled to myself as I grab some milk and pour myself a glass.

I sit at the table, next to Chelsea. "So, I got an interview for a job today. Looks like you might not kick me out anytime soon" I boast.

"Oh, that's good" she muttered, not even taking a glance at me.

I quickly shut my mouth, thinking she's not in the mood for a conversation. Should have known judging her bags under her eyes and sleepy, lazy look on her.

I finish my milk and spend the rest of the day watching YouTube and drawing. As soon as it hit 4 I started to get ready, making sure to dress nice and look decent enough for the interview. When it hit 4:45 I got my keys out, my sketchbook, got the directions from the ad, said goodbye and made my way to the studio by car.

The studio was in sight I noticed how run-down it looks, the paint tearing off, the grass long enough to be considered a jungle and faded words on the front. I park your car at the side of the road. Before heading out I take a moment to breath and try to find the remainder of my courage and confidence.

I make my way to the entrance and go inside the run down building. "Wow, the inside is way cleaner compared to outside" The floors were swept and polished, the walls had a fresh coat of paint and it smelled like a new home.

I start to wonder straight into the halls, searching for someone to ask for directions. I pass by an office and catch a glance of someone working in there, I quickly stop in your tracks and knock on the open door. The scrawny man looked up from his desk and focuses on you

"Oh, how can I help you?" he asks.

"I have an interview for the animator position, but I have no idea where the boss is. Can you tell me where I would find him?"

He gets up from his chair and starts to guide me through the hall.

"Well the boss is down the hall, on your left. By the way my name is Mark, what's yours?"

'I'm Ben, nice to meet you man"

After we turn to the left, we're met with a large door, titled "Mr. Drew" with a gold-looking plate above.

"Here he is. Hope the interview goes well for you, good luck, Ben"

He waves goodbye and leaves me in front of the large, intimidating door.

I knock on the wooden door.

"Come in"

I open the door with my clammy hand and is greeted with a buff, older man.

"Oh, are you here about the position?" he questions.

"Yep. My name is Ben, I called about it yesterday"

"Ah, so you're Ben. Come, take a seat" he points to the chair in front of his desk and I sit down, feeling my nervous heart beat loudly and rapidly more by the second.

"So, what makes you think you're qualified to work here?"

"Well I have a passion for art and animation, I think I'll be a good addiction to the team by how hard working I am. I brought some of my personal art pieces of examples of my artistic ability" I hand him the sketchbook and watch him flip through the pages, trying to figure out if he likes them or not.

He hands it back, saying nothing and having no emotion shown. "So, what do you think?" I nervously ask, feeling the bead of sweat roll down my forehead.

"Welcome to the team" he announces with a toothy smile.

I smile wide and shake his hand excitedly. "Oh, thank you so much sir! I swear you won't regret this choice!"

"Haha, I like you kid. Come in on Monday morning at 8am, ok?"

"Of course. I'll see you on Monday" I waved goodbye and made my way down the hall and towards the exit.

I stopped by Mark's office to say thanks. Then I hop into my car and make my way home, feeling hopeful and excited for Monday.


	2. Chapter 2

The weekend goes by painfully slowly, probably because I kept checking the day and date, eagerly waiting for Monday morning to come. All I did for the weekend was draw, watch YouTube and...actually, that's all I did. How exciting.

I suddenly wake up to the alarm blaring, interrupting my peaceful sleep. I slowly raise my arm and slam it on the snooze, letting out a loud, gravelly groan. I rub my eyes and turn my focus to the alarm clock, reading 7am.

I yawn and crawl myself out of bed, dragging my half asleep body to the kitchen for a drink. I grab my glass of milk, chug it and start to get ready for the day. I brush my teeth, brush my mess of a hair, find decent enough clothes and then relax on the couch.

After a few moments of sitting there and doing nothing, I check my phone for the time, 7:30.

"Ah, 15 minutes before I leave. What should I do?" I wonder.

I start to daydream of how work will be. I start to feel butterflies in my stomach, hoping I won't let the team down by falling behind or not trying hard enough.

After a minute of nerve wrecking thoughts my roommate enters the living room with a mug in her hands and takes a seat next to me.

"Morning, Ben" she mumbles.

"Oh, morning, Chelsea. Looks like you had a rough night" I joke.

She looks at me with her droopy eyes, before she responds she lets out a long, deep yawn

"Oh, really? I happen to think I look wide awake" she chuckles and start to lay back, letting the couch swallow her in comfort.

"So, you start work today, right?"

"Yup! I start at 8, I don't have to leave for another" I quickly turn on my phone for the time "10 minutes" I beam.

She smile's slightly. Chelsea and I talk for a few more minutes about her job as a hotel manager, her frustrations about the staff, a cute boy she saw the other day and how her boss can be a real jerk sometimes.

"Well congrats on the job. I have to go get ready though, so good luck on your first day" she added, giving me a smile and thumbs up.

I watch her leave the room, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

I check my phone again, reading 7:40. I decide to just leave early, paranoid that I'll be late on my first day. I get my keys, head out the door, I start up the car and make my way to work with a smile a mile wide.

I park my car in front of the building and make my way towards the building, butterflies slowly coming back and heart pounding louder with every step. I open the door and take a few steps down the hall, but then stop, I realize something that made my heart stop, I was never told where I was suppose to go.

I idle there, confused and lost. I felt a light tap on my shoulder, I turn around and faced with the same scrawny man from yesterday.

"Oh! hey, Mark" I greet.

"Hey, Ben. Something tells me that you're lost"

"How can you tell?"

"Oh, I don't know, probably because you've been standing there, not moving an inch for an actual minute" he giggled.

My cheeks start to turn red, wanting to hide in a hole for embarrassing myself like that.

"But fear not, I'm here to help. I guess the boss forgot to tell you that someone will be assigned to guide and help you out today, huh?" he asks.

"I guess so" I muttered, still feeling the heat on my cheeks.

"Just follow me, I'll show you where you'll be working"

Mark gestures me to follow, guiding me down the hall and taking a right. A few moments later I'm met with a small room, filled with a desk, large drawing tablet in the middle of the desk, stylus and blank sheets of paper neatly stacked next to the tablet.

I stare in awe, taking in the simplistic, yet cozy look to the room.

"So, ready to get started with the day?" he asks

"As ready as I'll ever be" I mumbled, losing my excitement, replaced by nerve wrecking anxiety.

He gives me a reassuring smile and we make our way to the desk.

"So, today will be an easy day, all we need to do is create some ideas for a scene on the episode we're working on"

I take a seat in front of the desk, while he grabs a chair outside of the room and sits uncomfortably close to me.

"I never asked, but what show are we working on?" I questioned.

"The boss never told you? Well, we're remaking his father's old show, Bendy. We're also adding in some personal ideas into it to change it a bit, but most of the original idea's will stay the same" he explained.

"Oh, that's cool" I replied, trying to control my inner excitement, not wanting to embarrass myself by squealing like a fanboy.

We spend the next hour working on expressions and poses for the scene assigned for us, making sure to ask other employee's for improvement, while meeting some new faces around the workshop.

As we take a small breather, I take another look around the room, admiring my work space. As my eyes travel across the room I notice something I don't remember noticing when I first came in, it was a Bendy cut-out, leaning back in the corner of the room.

"Oh geez I must be blind, I totally missed the Bendy cut-out" I chuckle.

"God I must need glasses because I didn't see that sneaky devil over there too" he jokes.

As we laugh and continue to make jokes about the cut-out I couldn't help, but feel a bit creeped out, I thought for sure it wasn't there before. I decide to brush it off, blaming myself for not noticing it when I first got here

"Oh, its 12. Time for break" he announces, along with a sigh of relief.

He skips his way to the break room, smiling ear to ear, while I follow close behind, feeling as my stomach will eat itself.

We approach the small break room and I look around my surroundings, noticing the small fridge in the corner, the small dining table in the middle, the couch at the over side of the room, along with a small coffee table in front and a small T.V on a stand, and another cut-out Bendy in the corner, smiling and watching.

"Geez, what's with all of the cut-out Bendy's?" I wonder to myself.

Mark grabs a quick snack from the fridge and joins his friend's on the couch, leaving me alone.

I walk to the fridge and open it, feeling the cold air hit my skin. I grab a small drink of juice and a yogurt. I sit at the small dining table and start to eat, not making eye contact to avoid social interaction.

I couldn't help, but feel watched, feeling a stare from the corner of the room. I try to ignore, but after a minute I couldn't take it anymore. I turn my head to the corner, but is faced with only the smiling demon cut-out.

"Ah, I must be crazy tired or something. Maybe I should start going to bed earlier." I brush it off and continue to my food, finishing it and throwing it in the trash.

I sit back at the table and take out my phone to make time pass. No matter what I did to distract myself, I still felt that stare. I did everything I could, went on Instagram, Tumblr, Texted my roommate and even went on YouTube. I couldn't take it anymore, it made me feel way too creeped out.

I got up from my seat and approached Mark.

"Hey, when does our break end?" I asked, avoiding eye contact with the strangers on the couch.

"Uh, one sec, let me check the time"

I watch him take out his phone and look at the screen myself, taking note of the time, 12:20.

"It doesn't end for another 40 minutes" he answers.

"Well I'm gonna relax in my office. I'll see you there when break is over"

Before he had a chance to protest I left the room quickly, pretending not to hear my name called out in the hall.

I enter my small office and sigh in relief, feeling more relaxed.

I take out my personal sketchbook from my small bag and start to doodle the scene idea's from earlier, getting rid of boredom and loneliness.

As I started on my firth small doodle I heard a soft, faint tap. I quickly turn my head to the source, yet again faced with the little devil cut-out.

I start to feel a bit freaked out, wondering if I'm hearing things or if someone is playing a joke on the new guy.

"This is too freaky for me" I laugh uneasily.

I release a breath I didn't realize I was holding. I get up and hesitantly make my way to the cut-out, heartbeat racing, nearly exploding as I approach the smiling demon. I grip onto it and turn its back towards me. I sigh, feeling a bit more safe now.

I sit back at my table and continue doodling, turning my head back to check on the devil every now and again, still feeling uneasy.


	3. Chapter 3

Wednesday morning. Two days have passed and I still feel uneasy whenever I come near those creepy cut-outs, whenever I'm around one I feel watched. It creeps me out.

I tried to take the one in my office out in the hall before I started to work, but as soon as I turn around before my break, it was back. Its like their alive, but I know its someone playing a trick on me, probably Mark.

Yesterday when I mentioned how they make me feel uneasy to Mark, all he did was laugh and joke around how they watch me. Sometimes I feel crazy around here, it's like I'm the only one who feels creeped out in this place.

I try to get my mind off of it and continue back to work.

I make my way across the tablet with my stylus in hand, drawing out a rough draft of the scene in an episode we're still working on.

As I finish up the expression on Bendy's face I hear a loud, demanding knock on my office door.

"Come in" I call out, facing the door.

The door opens and reveals a buff, older man, Mr. Drew.

"Oh, Mr. Drew. This is a surprise. How can I help you?" I ask.

"I need you to quickly finish up the rough drafts of the animation, our deadline is approaching and I really need them sent to those in charge of finalizing them" he orders.

"Uh, yes sir. Ill do my best to hurry up"

"Get a move on" he added before leaving my office, slamming the door loudly.

I sit there, taken back by his demanding attitude. He seemed like a patient, calm guy when I first arrived, didn't expect him to be so demanding.

"Never judge a book by its cover" I thought.

I stare at my work for a moment, feeling as I'm carrying the world on my shoulder's.

"Guess I'm too slow" I muttered, slouching in my chair.

I spend the next hour finishing up the rough drafts, trying to hurry up like I was told. As soon as I finished I sent them away to be finalized.

I took a minute to sit back and relax, feeling as the pressure and anxiety slowly fades away. Before I was in complete relaxation, my door swung opened, followed by Mark barging his way in.

"Ben! You got to see what I found!" he shouted, bouncing up and down.

"Don't know how to knock?" I joke.

"No. Now look at this" he shoves a black, soft object in my face, too close for me to focus on it.

"Way too close!" I laugh and push his hand away from my face.

I gaze on the object in his hand, it was a Bendy plushie.

"Where did you find that?" I ask, curious on where he found this cute little devil.

"I found it while I was walking to the break room; it was up in a bookcase I passed"

"Put your hand out" he orders.

I give him a questioning look, conflicted on if I should or not.

"Please" he begs, hands clapped together.

I hesitantly put my hand out and watch him place the plushie in my hand, feeling the soft material against my hand.

"Why did you give me this?"

"I overheard the boss yelling at you earlier. Sorry I didn't warn you about his attitude and temper, He gets like that when the deadline is soon. This is my apology gift" he explained, patting my shoulder.

"I got to go to work though, I'll see you later" he added, leaving my office and alone with my new, soft friend.

I admire the plushie, taking in how adorable and small it is. I place it beside my tablet and continue to work with a smile on my face, appreciating the kind gift.

After I finish up the rest of my work for the day I take a small break and take out my phone, checking my notifications and the time, 3:44pm.

I let out a tired sigh, feeling exhausted from today. I get up from my seat and turn towards the door, about to make my way to the bathroom. Before I can even take one step I notice the cut-out, it was facing me again.

"I'm pretty sure it's back was facing me" I thought, feeling sweat bead down my forehead.

I quickly grab it and turn it's back facing me again.

"Hope no one decides to mess with me again" I thought, biting my bottom lip.

I rushed out of the office, walking down the hall to go to the bathroom, feeling relieved being out of there.

After I do my business and approach my door I hear small, quick footsteps in my office. "Hello? Somewhere in there?" I call out.

The footsteps stop dead in their tracks.

I grip the door knob and turn it. The footsteps return, rapidly running across the room. I quickly open the door, only to reveal nothing, but the Bendy cut-out in the middle of the room facing the door.

I feel sick to my stomach, thinking that someone was in here, messing around with the cut-out and possibly touching any of my belongings.

I grab the cut-out with my clammy hands and put it back in the corner, making sure it's back was facing me again. I scan the office to find the culprit, but as I view the room I realize there is nowhere for anyone to hide.

I grow uneasy, feeling as I'm losing my mind more the longer I work here.

I slowly walk up to my desk and find something drawn on a blank sheet of paper. It was a long frown, along with the words, "Why do you keep turning me?" written below it.

"That's it". I snatched the paper from my desk and stomped my way to Mr. Drews office, knocking loudly on his door.

"Come in" he answered.

I rushed in his office fuming.

"Ah, Ben. Please tell me why you felt the need to almost break down my door" he hissed.

"Someone is messing with me! For the past two days I turn my Bendy cut-out with his back facing me, but whenever I turn around after I finish up my work he is facing directly at me. Then today after I went to the bathroom and before I went back in my office I heard footsteps in there and when I went in somewhere wrote down this!" I snapped, putting the paper in his face.

He snatched it from my hand, reading it and setting it down on his desk.

"I'll call a staff meeting before everyone goes home and give them all a warning about playing practical jokes around here. This is unacceptable"

"Thanks Mr. Drew" I wave goodbye and before I step a foot outside of his office he calls out to me.

"You can leave early today if you need to rest" he added.

I rush to my office, face red and clenching my fists. I slam my office door open and start grabbing my things, packing up to leave for the day.

As I leave I notice a sheet of paper, filled with words. I pick it up.

"You look mad, toots" I read out loud. I start to clench the paper, crinkling the side. I crumble it up and toss it in the bin.

My eyes land on my plushie, just looking at it calm my nerves. I take the plushie and carefully place it in my bag.

I stomp to the door and when I grip onto the door knob I hear a low, playful laugh behind me. I freeze up, wondering if I should turn or not.

I slowly turn my head, expecting somewhere there. No one. I rush out, feeling extremely uneasy and panicked.

I stop by Marks office and explain everything to him, He pats my shoulder and reassures me that the trickster will be caught.

I exit the building and approach my small car. As I enter the seat and start up the engine, I look at the building once more.

I scan the building and I notice Mr. Drew staring at me through his office window. I make eye contact and as soon as I do, he sends a glare towards me. I quickly break the eye contact and drive away from work, feeling more at ease the farther I am.

Mr. Drews POV

I watch Ben scurry her way out of the building and into her car. I cross my arms as I continue to watch him.

"Stupid ink demon is messing with one of my staff. Looks like I'll have to punish it when I find it" I thought.

I watch the young man look around the building and laid his eyes onto mine, I give him a glare in return, making him quickly avert his gaze.

"He's my opportunity to find the ink demon. Just need him to make the demon come out of hiding somehow" I sit down by my desk, and fidget with my hand, trying to come up with a plan on how to use him to make the inkling beast come out of it's hiding.


	4. Chapter 4

Another day at work. Stylus in hand, tired expression plastered on my face and the cut-out seeming to move on it's own.

"Ugh, I can't focus today" I groan out.

I decide to take a mini break from work and explore the halls of the studio, without Mr. Drew knowing of course.

I get up from my chair and adventure down the halls, just taking in the wooden walls with ink scattered across, the creaks of the floor, the strong smell of sweat and ink, and the murmurs of voice actors.

"Wow this place got way messier" I notice, feeling the inky wall and making my palm filled with the cold, damp ink.

"Why is this ink so wet? looks like it's recent" I thought to myself, watching the ink drip down the wall.

I continue on and find myself in a different department. I observe the new environment, listening to the beautiful music in the distance, the soft, silky voice singing away, filling my ears with bless.

One moment nothing, but heaven. Next, utter chaos. I jump when I hear a low, booming voice. I sneak my way towards the voice and hid behind the wall, peeking out.

I notice Mr. Drew shooing the musicians out of the music room, ordering them to wait in the hall until he comes out. He slams the door shut, resulting in outraged musicians, all complaining bitterly.

I escape, not wanting to interact with the agitated musicians, and not wanting my boss to catch me taking a break when I'm suppose to be at my desk working.

I stroll along the halls of the music department, still wary of Mr. Drew. As I adventure deeper and deeper down the department I take note of the amount of Bendy cut-out's that are filled in this section.

"What is with the cut-out's being everywhere in this studio?" I muttered.

I march back, retracing my footsteps. I continue making my way back to my office, before a Bendy cut-out pops out from the wall and retreats back. I shriek, feeling my heart leave my body.

I force my legs to move towards the wall ahead and peer around the corner. It was placed against the wall, cold and wooden.

"Maybe...maybe it was just someone just...just playing a trick" I stuttered.

I dragged my stiff legs across the hall, taking glances all around, especially behind.

While quickly making my way to safety I heard a low, childish giggle coming from behind. I turn my head and notice a dark, small figure peering around the corner of a wall.

I hold my breath, staring at the dark creature slowly form bigger and bigger, finally forming into a tall, ink like demon. I slowly take smalls steps back and right when a triggered a creak from the floor the thing came sprinting down the hall, coming straight for me.

I cry out and I dash towards my department, desperate for anywhere safe and around people.

"Come back! Can't turn me now, can ya?!" It laughs out.

I hear it's footsteps rapidly catching up to mine. I didn't dare to look back, only focusing on escaping.

The more I run the more light I see, the less ink are on the walls and the voices get louder and louder with each step.

I feel it's chilly, moist hand make contact with my back, trying to grab hold of me. I look back, catching a glimpse of it throwing it's hands at me, desperately trying to reach me.

It swung it's arm at me, attempting to grab me. I dodge and force my body to go faster towards light and safety, using up the rest of my energy.

Before it can capture me I make it to my office and slam it shut behind me, holding the door closed with my back.

I slide my body down, sobbing uncontrollably against the hard, wooden door. I bring my hand to my heart trying to control my heartbeat that's racing non-stop and my fast, heavy breathing.

My thoughts are running wild, filled with shock, confusion, worry and panic.

I finally calmed my breathing a bit and felt my heart slow down the pace. I took deep, long breaths to calm my tired, shaky and panic filled body.

After a few deep breaths I hear a soft knock on my door.

"Uh, yes?" I answer.

I feel the door attempting to be pulled open, failing due to my back against it.

"Um, the door won't open, Ben" Mark complains, still trying to open it.

"Well just give me a sec, I'm just relaxing against it" I make up.

I rush to fix my wet face, hiding the fear and panic I experienced. I open the door and hide my hands behind my back, hiding how badly they are shaking.

"So, what's up man?" I ask, trying to sound as casual as I can.

"Just wanted to know if you're coming to the break room for lunch"

"Nah, I'm all good. I like my cozy office" I force my lips to form the fakest and brightest smile I could, desperately holding in the tears.

He hesitates before giving me a small, worried smile.

"You sure? I'm sure the break room would be more fun instead of being coped up in here" he stares into my eyes, flooded with worry and desperation.

"I'm all good, really. I like it in here" I reassure.

Before he can mutter another word a distant, but booming voice calls out to Mark, leaving me in a dark hallway filled with nothing, but the sounds all around.

Alone with my short, quick breaths, the occasional drips in the distance and creaks from the floorboards that left me feeling anxious and tense.

I peer at both sides of the hall, trying to find any sign of that horrifying ink demon. I shut my door and drag my exhausted body to my chair, finally resting.

I lay my head against the desk, struggling to find an explanation for what chased me down the hall.

"Should I tell Mark or anyone about this?" I worry, clutching my sketchbook for dear life, hearing the paper's crinkle from my death grip.

"If I tell someone I'll sound crazy. It was dark, it was probably just someone taking advantage of the dark and playing a cruel joke" I pondered.

I feel my body finally starting to loosen up a bit and my body stop shaking.

I shakily flip to a blank sheet on my sketchbook and doodle, not caring about my shaky lines, just wanting to forget all about what happened.

After a few doodles I feel more relaxed, body no longer stiff and shaky. I finish the sheet and flip to the next. I find words written on the sheet. "Can't wait to play!" written in thick, black ink, along with a large smiling face next to it.

I hold it in place, reading it over and over again, hands trembling, clenching the sheet roughly. I shut my sketchbook and bring my hands to my face, failing to contain the strong, quick breaths from my panic attack.

"Come on! think happy thoughts!" I yell in my head.

I fail to contain the attack, feeling as all of my nerves and sound around me go numb. I get up from my chair for help, feeling as the world starts to get dizzy and I fall to the ground, feeling no pain as I hit the wooden floor.

I lay there completely still, unable to see nothing, but blurs all around.

It felt like an eternity before my vision slowly returns, each second it focuses more. By the time my vision returns almost fully I see something black emerge from an ink puddle in the corner gain, turning it's head and approach my numb, still body.

I try to squirm, trying to reboot my body into moving. Nothing. I watch the creature's every move and feature's with wide eyes, not believing what I was seeing. It look exactly like Bendy, cartoon form and that signature smile everyone knows and loves.

I was staring right at Bendy, the Dancing Demon. I couldn't scream, unable to make any sound. All I could do is stare and fear for the worst.

It lowered down to my numb body and whispered something that sent a chill to my spine.

"Ready to play, Ben?"


	5. Chapter 5

I watch Bendy as it lifts it's body back up, smiling wide, eyes filled with playful mischief. It chuckled, looking at my pale face, my eyes bulging out and jaw resting on the floor.

"Geez, aren't you a talker" he huffed out, tapping his foot.

"But" he added, lowering to your level again.

"I'm sure I can still have fun with you".

"Get up" he ordered, moving out of the way to give me some room.

I slowly lift your body off of the cold, hard, wooden floor. I stand up, not making eye contact and body shaking, terrified of this abomination standing in front of me.

"Good. Now I have the perfect game in mind, it's called: Steal a book from Mr. Drew"

I say nothing, feeling nothing, but confusion and fear.

"Ugh, say something already" he roared.

I jump, terrified of the demon in front of me. "Oh, uh sorry. So...so what book am I...I suppose to...to steal?" I stuttered out.

I slowly lift my head to look at him, I managed to, only for a second before I got too scared and averted my gaze, looking down at the ground again. He noticed and chuckled, amused with how terrified I am of him.

"The Book of Life, that's the book I need. Get it. I'll check up on you everyday to see if you completed the errand" He explained.

"Oh and don't try to tell ANYONE about me. If you try to snitch I'll make sure you NEVER snitch again" he threatened, laughing darkly.

He gives me a wink before jumping into the ink puddle in the corner and disappearing

I stood there for who knows how long, hoping this is all a dream and I'll wake up in my cozy, warm bed and laugh about all of this in the morning. I pinch myself. Not a dream, it's all real.

Tears escape my eye's, no sound, no sobs, just silent.

After I run dry of tears I wipe my wet face and shuffled towards my desk and sit on the chair, resting my head on my desk.

"How am I suppose to steal a book from Mr. Drew?!"..."What if the thing kills me after I give him the book, there's nothing stopping it from betraying me. I don't trust it for a second" "Is it watching every move I make?. What if I try to trick it and it sees? I have to do this, I have no choice!" I yell in my head, tears dropping down, feeling as there's no escape.

"I have to do this. Once I have the book I'll think of something" I decide.

I calm myself a bit and force my hand to continue working, hating it, but knowing I can't slack off without Mr. Drew barging in and yelling at me, demanding I get back to work.

Break finally came, allowing me an hour to think of a plan to steal that book of life.

"I need someone to distract him, taking him out of the office. Maybe Mark can. Ah, but how am I suppose to ask him to distract him and take the boss out of the office. It has suspicious activity written all over it" I groan and throw my hands up in frustration.

"Curse that demon. I could be relaxing, enjoying my break and continuing on with my safe and happy life. He ruined it all" I hissed out.

"You should never talk behind someone's back, toots"

I jump and turn my head, facing the demon that stood right behind me.

"Oh, I'm...I'm so sorry. I didn't realize you were here. It won't happen again" I babbled, fearing he might hurt me in anger.

He laughs out, leaving me confused and a bit relieved he isn't mad.

"It's hilarious when you're terrified. You should be. Who knows, I could jump up and kill you right now!" He jumps onto my desk, making me coward in fear and fall back, landing on my back onto the hard floor.

He points to me as he howled, tears coming out from the corners of his eyes.

"Oh my god! your reactions are just too priceless!"

I hug my body, feeling as my confidence and happiness fall apart as he continues to laugh and tease me.

After a good minute of him trying to calm his laughter, he stands up straight on my desk and looks down on me.

"Alright, get up errand boy" he orders.

I jump up on my feet, not wanting to sit and be so close to the monster.

"You're probably wondering why this devilishly handsome, super talented ink demon came to visit, right?" he guessed.

I answer, shaking my head quickly, making myself dizzy for a second. He snickers.

He leaps down and moves the chair in front of me and rotating it, making it face me. He jumps up and brings his face way too close to mine.

"Just making sure that you wouldn't get any idea's about betraying me. I'm sure I'm just thinking too much of it, RIGHT?" his smile widens, not breaking eye contact. It seems sinister and threatening. It sends a shiver down my body and soul.

"No...no of course not" I reassure him, backing up a few steps.

"Good, good. If you were, heh, let's just say you would regret it" I gaze upon the devil itself in a cold sweat, feeling as there are pins and needles stabbed throughout.

"Well, I should probably head out. I'll return tomorrow, or later. Depends if I get bored and decide to play with my personal toy" he grins and strolled to his ink puddle, sending me a sinister smile as a warning before disappearing my office.

I sigh and collapse on my chair, completely drained of my energy.

I check the time on my phone, weakly pressing down the power button. 12:50pm.

"Ugh, it's surprise visit used up all of my time" I complain.

I get up and drag my feet to the break room, in need of food and a drink to gain some energy and to calm my pounding headache. I enter and notice only 2 worker's in there.

"The rest must have went back to work" I concluded.

I chug a large glass of water like I've been dehydrated for 2 days now, water dripping down my chin and onto my shirt. I grab a few snacks and scoff down on them, eating like I've been starved. I feel the stares of the others, but I don't care.

I finish up and put everything away. I sit in the break room for a few minutes, feeling safe and comfort around people. I scan the room and notice the Bendy cut-out.

"Now they creep me out even more" I thought bitterly, turning away from it.

I start to stare off at the distance, deep in thought. Thinking about the devil making me do his dirty work, how I'm going to rob Mr. drew of his book and wondering if I'll live to see the next day when I give him the book.

My thoughts are interrupted by a hand slamming down on the table where I'm at, making me jump in surprise.

I face up, surprised to see Mark.

"Sorry, but you weren't responding to me" he apologizes while taking a seat next to me.

"Ok, listen up. I know this isn't none of my business, but you never leave your office. Is there something going on?"

I shift uncomfortably in my chair and avoid eye contact.

"No. Why do you think that?" I ask, a bead of sweat travelling down my forehead.

"It's just that you isolate yourself in that small office and never come out and talk to any of us, not even me. If you're shy and too uncomfortable I get that. I just want to be friends with you, you seem like a great guy and it's fun talking to you." he sighs, hiding his face in his hands.

He stays silent for a moment, making the air tense all around. he looks up at me, making eye contact.

"I want to hangout and talk more, even if it means I got to hangout in your office during break" he takes out his phone and turns it on.

"Aw man, break is over" he gets up from his chair, pushing it in and looking down on me one final time.

"Just think about it. Ben, if you need to talk, I'm here" he adds before leaving the room.

I watch him leave. When I can no longer hear his footsteps in the hall I get up and slowly make my way back to hell. I plop myself on my chair and continue to work.

I stare at my finished scene, eyes twinkling, feeling quite proud of myself. I get up, grab my bag to carry my work and skip my way to the other animators for any criticism.

I feel watched as I get closer and closer to an animators office, the stares burning on the back of my skull.

I approach the door and before I knock I turn my head behind me, jumping when my eyes land on a Bendy cut-out facing me a few feet away.

I knock and eagerly wait for an answer, wanting to get away from the stare of the cut-out. The door opens, revealing Mr. Drew instead of one of the animator's.

"Oh, Mr. Drew. What are you doing here?" I questioned startled.

"Well this animator decided to quit today, so I'm just cleaning up the place" He explained harshly.

"Ah, well I'm...I'm sorry to disturb. Have a nice day, Mr. Drew"

I scurry my way down the hall, hearing the door slam shut, filling the hall with the deafening slam.

As I walk to a different animator's office I stop dead in my tracks, realization hitting me like a ton of brick's.

"He's...he's out of his office. This is my chance" I bolt to his office, time ticking.

I'm soon met with the large, wooden, intimidating door, feeling puny compared to the massive door in front of me. I idle there, hesitating to steal from Mr. Drew.

"Come on! I have to do this. This might be my only chance" I push my fear's and worries aside and grip on the door knob with my clammy hands, hearing my heart pound louder and louder the more I turn the knob.

I push it open slowly, the door creaks as it's pushed open. I feel anxious, afraid and skittish, hoping no one heard that. I glance to both sides of the hall.

"Alright, it's all clear" I whisper to myself. I enter the office and shut the door.

I scan the office first, taking note of my surroundings. I look up at the "Joey Drew Studios" Massive plate, along with a reel in the middle, placed above and behind the desk, the sofa on the right side of the office, the wide, wooden desk, accompanied by Ink, paper, a mug filled halfway with no longer steaming hot coffee and a newly looked bookcase on the left side in the corner.

I tiptoe to the bookcase and desperately look for the book, motivated by the terrifying ink demon visit's and wanting to get out of here. I search and search, finding nothing, but books on management, animations, cartoons, etc. I couldn't find it anywhere.

"Ugh, where is it" I hissed out in a low voice, skimming through the bookcase for the second time in hopes I just missed it.

"Maybe it's on his desk or in a drawer" I reassure myself.

I go to the desk and open the drawers and search in them quickly, feeling anxious he will come any second now. I go to the last drawer and attempt to open it. Locked.

"No no no no no no" I quietly cry out.

I look on the desk, searching for any keys. In the middle of my desperation I hear a tune hummed and footsteps along faintly.

My heart races, about to explode in my chest. The footsteps and humming get louder and louder each second. I look around, in need of a place to hide. I decide to hide behind the sofa.

I hide and calm my breathing before the door opens, Mr. Drew stomping in.

I hear him sigh in exhaustion and take a seat, hearing the chair creak from old age.

I stay very still, not daring to move even an inch. I stay still for who knows how long, only hearing his deep, raspy breaths, along with an occasional sip from his coffee.

After a few more moments I hear something silver or metal clank against his desk I assume. He makes his way up the chair, letting out a loud groan and stroll his way out the door.

When his footsteps start to get faint I slowly get out of hiding and investigate what he put on his desk. It was a key.

I grow excited, hoping it was the key for the locked drawer. I snatch it and put it in the look, turning it and hearing the click.

I celebrate in my head as I open the drawer, revealing the Book of Life sitting in there neatly. I grab it, hide it in my bag, place the key back and close the drawer.

I put my head against the door to listen for any sign of Mr. Drew coming back. I hear nothing. I open the door and dash to my office.

When I'm far from the office and close to my mine I stop running, walking in a normal pace to seem normal and innocent.

I enter my office in a rush and look around my office, trying to think of a good hiding place for it. I place the book inside of the sweater I brought to work and fold it, placing the folded sweater in my bag.

I sit down anxiously, grabbing my pens and continuing on my day, doing my best to act normal. While I slaved away on my desk and complete my tasks, I thought on how to bargain with the devil.


	6. Chapter 6

"2 days have passed and I still have no idea how to bargain without dying" I groan out, tapping my finger against the desk, trying to keep my head from exploding due to stress and fear.

I hear small footsteps approach me from behind. I sigh and turn around. Faced with the devil himself, Bendy.

"Hey, toots. How's my personal human doing?" he asked, staring at me with those empty, void eye's.

I grow suspicious, wondering what the sneaky demon is up to.

"Oh, I'm...I'm doing good, how about you?" I ask politely, swallowing my fear.

"Bored" he answered, sighing dramatically.

"Since I'm here though, mind telling me if you've made any progress?"

"Oh...uh, no. I'll get it tomorrow for sure. I have the perfect plan to get it" I lie, anxiety flowing through my body as he eyes me, hoping he will swallow up my lie.

"Really now? mind telling me this "perfect plan" of yours"

I gulp, trying to think of a lie.

"Ah, you don't need to know it. Can't risk you ruining my plan" I fidget with my hand, feeling as I panic on the inside more the longer he stares at me with those black, doubtful eyes.

"That's just rude, toots" he stated, tone laced with annoyance and offense.

"You better have it tomorrow, I'm starting to get impatient" he added while grabbing my pen and sheet of paper from my desk.

I watched him as he doodled on my sheet, laying stomach first on the ground.

As he added more and more doodles, I was surprised, not expecting the demon to have any artistic ability.

"Where...where did you learn how to draw?" I asked

"That's none of your business" he snapped, giving me a death glare.

I break the eye contact, terrified I'll upset him even more if I look at him.

He jumps to his feet and walks up behind me, close enough to hear his breathing clearly.

I hear something behind, a squishy, wet sound. I turn my head slowly and gasp. I look up at the now tall, menacing demon looming over me.

His deformed, face, constant smile, far too skinny body...everything about this demon sent chills through my body.

I stare, unable to speak, let alone make any sound. It bends down to my level, his face inches away from mine.

"I think you're starting to get way too comfortable around me. Did you forget I'm a ink demon that could kill you just for the fun of it? maybe I will if I don't get my book" he threatened, his hand tracing my face.

I feel his finger get sharp, still tracing my face, but slightly harder this time, almost enough to penetrate my flesh.

In a swift movement he penetrates my skin, leaving only a small cut across my cheek. I feel the small amount of blood stream down my cheek.

I stare at him, unable to control my shaky breaths and my racing heart.

He stands up straight, looking down at me with that never ending smile, the smile that haunts my thoughts.

He pauses, backing up slightly to admire his warning he put on my cheek.

"Consider that a warning, toots. If you start to get far too comfortable with me again, lets just say your next warning will have severe consequences"

My body trembles, feeling as that warning stuck itself in my brain and soul. Doubt about being able to bargain with this demon filled my entire being.

He huffs, snapping me out of my doubtful thoughts. I notice his uneven breathing, his fits clenching as he stares at me.

"Why...why is he so mad? What did I do?!" I yell in my head, trying to find out what I did

I back up slowly, hitting the desk with my back. He stomps towards me, I coward in fear, closing my eyes and hugging my body, preparing for the pain.

He grips onto my wrist roughly and pulls it towards him, pulling my grip away from myself and turning my entire body to face him.

"Listen he-" A series of deafening knocks interrupt the devil.

"Ben, it's me, Mr. Drew. We need to talk" he demanded.

I gulp, remembering the book I stole from him that I hid in my room back at home.

Bendy cursed, throwing my wrist at me. He tiptoes his way to the ink puddle, sending a low growl before leaving me alone with an angry boss outside my office door.

"Ben, hurry up and open this door!" he roared, making my soul jump out of my body.

I rush to the door and open the door, greeted with the fuming man.

"Uh, hey, boss. What do you need?" I squeaked out.

"Someone stole a book of mine. everyone in this studio is a suspect, I need to question all of you about it"

He grabs a chair from the hall and brings it next to mine. He takes a seat and turns to me, gesturing to sit. I close the door and sit across from him, noticing the storm in his eyes.

"If you took it this is your chance of redemption. I won't fire you and it will all be in the past. So, if you have it, cough it up" he stares intensely, making me think he's trying to enter my head.

I gulp, fidgeting with my fingers as I feel his stare through my skull. I shift uncomfortably in my chair and look him straight in the eye.

"I don't have whatever book was stolen from you"

He says nothing as he eyes me, eyes filled with frustration and doubt. He deeply sighs, massaging his forehead with his palm.

I contain myself on the outside, acting as I'm an innocent bystander.

"Maybe he will believe me and leave me alone. He has no proof it was me anyways, it's at home safely" I reassure myself in my head, attempting to calm my doubtful and worry thoughts.

He gets up from his chair, letting out a deep and loud groan, making me feel extremely uncomfortable.

"Well, if you hear or see anything of it, let me know" He added before saying his goodbyes and leaving my office

I fall back on my chair and cling to my body, worried he will come back soon.

"What if he somehow finds proof I stole it?" "What if someone saw me enter his office and tell him?!" "What if he saw me hiding behind the sofa?!" my thoughts run wild, filled with worry and fear.

I try to reassure myself, but it doesn't work. I grab my pen, the pen trembling with my hands violently.

I grip onto my wrist to stop the shaking, desperate to calm my body, in fear someone will walk in to my suspicious behavior.

I sit up and daydream about hopeful thoughts. I daydream that I beat the devil and carry on with my normal, happy life. No more demon. The thought of getting rid of the inky thing put a smile on my face, making me feel hopeful about the near future.

It's been hours now since I've seen Bendy. I felt relieved, wanting to avoid that question as his as much as possible.

"Any progress?" I mock.

I snap my head behind me, remembering I need to look around before I start mocking him. He's not here, but the cut-out is. The stupid cut-out that I put in the halls everyday, but it still manages to get back in.

"Can he control them or something?" I wonder irritated.

I grab my pen and fling it towards to cut-out, hitting it right in the face. I feel tension and stress leave my body.

"Wow, hitting what looks like him makes me less stressed" I exclaimed as I continue hitting it with pens and pencils.

I run out of stuff to throw. I sigh in exhaustion as I get up and collect the thrown pens and pencil. I pick up the last item and turn around, met with small Bendy sitting on my chair with his back facing me.

"Having fun over there, toots?" he asks, not even turning to face me.

"yeah...yeah I am" I laugh nervously, knowing he saw what I did to his cut-out.

He turns to me, his smile seemed off, almost menacing.

"So, you think you can just mess with my cut-out's like that? let's see how you like it" he turns himself and the chair to face me and takes out his hand, his palm facing the ceiling.

"Put them in my hand and then go right beside that handsome devil cut-out" he orders.

I shuffle towards him, hesitantly giving him the pens and pencils.

I walk up to the cardboard and stand right beside it, hiding my face in my hands, knowing what he's gonna do to me.

I felt the pens and pencils hitting my body one by one, the sharp ends of the pencils almost penetrating my skin, ink from the pens marking my body and hearing his howls of laughter filling the room, making my blood boil and run cold at the same time.

All I felt was a mixed of anger and fear.

I no longer felt the hits, but I still hid my face, whimpering, wanting nothing, but to carry on with life without being terrorized by this demonic cartoon.

I separate my fingers slightly, peeking out, catching his intense gaze, making me grow nauseous and fearful for what's to come next.

"Now pick those up" He demanded, pointing to the thrown supplies on the floor.

I idle for a moment, unable to move. A few moments later I gain control of my body again and reach for the thrown supplies, picking them up one by one slowly, feeling as my body ran out of energy and motivation to do anything, even if it will keep me from a horrible punishment from Bendy.

I put the supplies in a small drawer on my desk, organizing them.

"Finally! thought you were deaf for a second" he laughs out.

I laugh along awkwardly, hating every second of his company.

"I hate this. I hate him. I want him gone" I complain to myself as he continues to laugh.

He calms down.

He taps my arm repeatedly, each tap becoming more rough. eventually the taps start to hurt, each tap filled with more force and power

"Do...do you want something?" I grit through my teeth, resisting the urge to snap.

"Well-" my door swings open and a certain angry boss barges his way in, interrupting Bendy.

I push Bendy under my desk, hiding him with my own body as I sit in my chair in front.

"Hey, Mr. Drew. Nice weather we're having today, right?" I panic, not expecting this surprise visit.

"I need the work you have, we're behind schedule" He demands, walking up to my desk.

"Wait" I blurt out, picking up the sheets myself and handing them over.

"Here you go, sir. Anything else you need?" I asked as he gives me a puzzling look.

"Uh, no. That's all. Now get back to work" He nagged

"Damn, wish he stayed" I thought to myself, recalling about the horrifying demon I shoved under my desk

I feel him wriggle around violently, shaking my desk.

He escapes. Pausing for a moment while he stares at me. I squeeze my hand, trying to hide my fear from him, not wanting to amuse him. I do my best to act brave while remaining terrified on the inside, fearing for what he might do next

He suddenly opens his mouth to speak.

I shut my eyes and prepare myself for the scolding.

"Uh, thanks, I guess" he mutters, his gaze dropping to the floor.

My eyes pop out of my sockets, unable to process what just happened.

"He thanked me?" I wondered to myself, feeling as this is a joke.

"For what?"

"You saved me, toots. If he saw me who knows what would have happened. So, I guess I owe you one now"

A painful, awkward silence fills the room. I lower my gaze onto the floor, not knowing what to say

"Well" he began, skipping his way to the small, inky puddle in its usual corner

"I'm out of here. If you need me, yell out or something" he waves goodbye and jumps in the puddle

I idle there, wondering what I should use my "I owe you one" on. An idea pops in my head, making me smile slightly as I feel hope in surviving.

"Maybe I can use it when I give him the book" I exclaimed.

I drop down on my chair, relieved that I have a plan to get rid of him and survive.

A smile is glued onto my face for the rest of the day, excited for when I get rid of that inky troublemaker forever.


	7. Chapter 7

**BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP**

I raise my hand and slam down on my alarm, hitting the snooze. I roll to the other side, trying to start up my brain, figuring out what day it is. I recall, smiling wide.

"Yes! Today is the day I get rid of him!" I celebrate, kicking myself out of bed.

I rush to get ready, packing myself food and grabbing the book that's still in my folded sweater, placing it neatly under everything else.

I get in my car, starting up the engine and cruising to work, smiling ear to ear. I park my car in its usual parking space in front and enter the building.

I skip my way down the halls, greeting those in the halls cheerfully, earning confused and tired greetings back.

I enter my office, sitting down in my chair, leaning back to relax for a minute or so before slaving away until break. I grab hold of my pencil and work away, for once not caring about the cut-out that managed it's way back in my office.

I finish up the outline for a scene and feel a quick, gentle tap on my right shoulder. I mentally prepare myself for who I'm about to face, the only one who comes in silently and unannounced. I turn around, faced with the creepy demon I fear.

"Hey, toots. You seem awfully cheery today" he pointed out, leaning his body against my desk, observing my outline.

"Ah, just one of those energetic and weird days I guess" I laugh out awkwardly, sliding the outline out of his reach.

"I'm bored, I wanna do something" He whines out childishly

He pauses, leaning against my chair as he silently thinks to himself.

"Oh, I know what I want to do" He jogs his way to my door and opens it, peeking side to side before vanishing into the dim hall. He comes back moments later with a chair, closing the door behind him and placing the chair on the right side of the desk.

"What are you doing?" I inquired

"What does it look like? I'm going to draw with you"

I freeze up, staring at him with wide eyes, shocked with his new vibe and behavior. Memories flashback to me, all of the times he was threatening and menacing, but today he's cheerful and friendly. I sit there silently, doubting he suddenly decided to be nice for no reason.

"He probably has a motive" I guessed to myself, keeping my guard up.

I nod at him and get back to work, not wanting to ruin his friendly vibe by saying something wrong.

For the next few hours, Bendy draws silently with me, occasionally showing me his finished pieces before working on his next. I finish up, standing up to make my way to the others for criticism.

"Oh, where are you off to?" Bendy questioned suspiciously.

"Just off to ask the other animators about what I've done. I need them to improve for it to be finalized" I explained.

I grab my bag, stuff the work in and approached my door. I look back at Bendy before I leave, praying he doesn't break anything while I'm gone.

I walk along the halls, going back to my office after I got the criticism I needed, wondering if my office will remain in one piece by the time I get back.

I see my door in the distance, slowly getting closer to it. I'm right in front of my door, griping on the knob. As I grip on the knob I put my ear against the wooden door, listening for any troubling sounds. I hear nothing. I open the door and is met with Bendy peacefully drawing, humming a catchy tune.

I scan around the room, looking for any misplaced or destroyed objects. I find nothing out of the ordinary and sit back on my chair, not making eye contact with the staring demon next to me, watching my every move.

"Why is he staring at me" I wonder to myself as I tap my desk, feeling a bit creeped out

I grab my pencil and get back to work, pretending not to notice. An hour in he taps my arm, grabbing my attention.

"Yes? You need something?" I ask politely, ignoring the fear of him that still remains inside.

He says nothing as he slips a sheet to me. I hesitantly pick up the sheet and turn it over. It showed Bendy and I hanging out in my office, nothing, but friendly and cheerful vibes attached to this artwork.

"Wow...this is really good, Bendy" I compliment. I feel weird when I call him by his name, still struggling to accept this is even a living cartoon beside me.

"What can I say? I'm just amazing" he brags, chest high and grins wide.

I chuckle. A small smile sneaks its way on my face, starting to find this surprise visit decently ok.

Then I remember how he warned me about getting too comfortable. I frown immediately, terrified he'll punish me for even smiling around him.

I put the artwork in a small drawer, explaining to him I'll keep it safe in there so it doesn't get ruined. He approves and continues with making more, humming a tune as he creates.

My gaze falls on my hands, noticing the slight shake. I lay them down on my thigh, letting myself have a little break as I wait for my body to calm itself.

"You know, you ain't bad company, toots" Bendy suddenly speaks up, making me jump with the sudden conversation starter.

"Oh...is that so? You're not bad yourself" I half-lie, recalling the bad visits, but finding this one pleasant.

"Heh, thanks. I might just visit you more now, even after you give me the book. Who knows, I might have more for you to do"

"Oh no, not good" I cry out to myself.

"Really? I wouldn't mind that" I give him a fake smile, struggling to keep it from falling into the biggest frown of my life.

He glanced at me for a second before looking down and continuing on, focused on the new masterpiece he started.

I lower my head, my future normal life feeling more like a fantasy than reality.

I grab my phone and turn it on

"12:30?! Ugh, I wish I knew it was break, I would have stopped working" I complained

I stand up and rush to organize my work, noticing Bendy's gaze on me

"I'll be back, ok? I'm just gonna go get some food and a drink"

He answers with a small nod, going back to his next masterpiece.

I speed down the hall, my stomach begging for food and a drink.

I enter the breakroom, a bit overwhelmed with how cramped I felt in here. I squeeze my way to towards the fridge, feeling as I'm drowning in this sea of staff.

"God, this room feels way smaller when everyone decides to come here. It's even really stuffy in here" I complain to myself, opening the fridge and reach for the sandwich I packed for myself this morning.

I shove the sandwich and the glass of water down my throat, nearly choking. Feeling the judgemental stares I'm getting from the other staff.

I wipe my mouth and rush to the exit until I'm stopped by Mark, blocking his way in.

"Ben!" He yelps, jumping back.

He pants, placing his hand on his heart.

"You scared me there" he chuckles

"Sorry"

"No, it's fine"

I take a step towards the hall, but blocked right away by Mark, purposely stopping my escape.

"We're suppose to hang out more, remember?" He reminds me

I start to tap my foot rapidly against the wooden floor, feeling way too uncomfortable with Mark's clingy behavior. I feel a headache growing more and more as he babbles on about us hanging out more, overreacting too much about the entire situation.

"I'm sorry, but can we postpone? I'm a bit behind on work, I need a little head start"

He sighs in defeat, moving his body out of the way, allowing me to escape. I thank him and bolt to my office, relieved when I see my door.

I swing it open, breathing heavily as I come in. I let myself fall on my chair, making Bendy jump from the surprise return. His expression is filled with nothing, but confusion. He notices my sweat and heavy breaths

"Did you run down the hall or something?" Bendy jokes.

"It was so cramped in there, I rushed to eat and ran to my office. I wanted nothing more, but to escape that sea of people, felt like I was drowning" I laugh out.

Bendy chuckles along, his smile seeming more genuine and playful than menacing. The anxiety and fear disappeared a bit, almost enjoying his company.

"Maybe his visits will be more like this" I hope to myself.

I pick up my pen and place the tip down on the sheet, resulting in the ink splattering everything on my no longer blank sheet.

I gasp, pushing my body back to avoid any ink spilling on me. I watch the last bit of ink drip from my pen onto my ink-filled sheet.

I hear a series of muffled giggles coming from beside me. I snap my head towards the culprit, giggling away.

"What...what on earth just happened?" I demanded.

"No idea, toots" He giggles out, playful mischief dancing in his eyes.

I pick the paper and stomp towards the bin, grumbling away to myself as I toss the paper away, ink covering most of my palm.

I sigh when I take a glance at my desk, noticing the faint, damp ink that went through the paper.

I sprint to the break room and barge my way in, wandering around, in search of a rag or anything to clean up the mess.

I find a dry rag under the sink, I snatched it and rinsed it with warm water. I grab a few paper towels before scurrying back to my office.

I swing open the door and rush to my desk. I scrub roughly, most of the ink leaving my desk. I stop scrubbing and observe my desk, noticing the faint stain of ink on my desk. I grit my teeth as I dry my desk with paper towels

I toss the inky, damp rag in the bin, along with the papers towels.

"I think you missed a spot" Bendy jokes, pointing to the stain as he giggles away.

"I regret what I said before. This visit wasn't as pleasant anymore" I growl out.

I sigh and get my work out, ignoring Bendy's laughter as I continue on with my day.

While I slaved away in this desk my gaze falls to the window, taking in the beautiful sunset. The orange, warm color filling my office. Unable to tear my eyes away from this unbelievable view. Sending my body into a calm state, as if this view temporarily poofed all of my worries and problems away.

"Wow," I whisper, struggling to find words to describe this beauty.

"What's so great about the sunset? You see it every day" Bendy asked, lifting his gaze to experience the view.

"The colors, it has a satisfying palette that I find relaxing and breathtaking. So many have different reasons for loving the sunset, but I find the colors give me a calm, satisfying and a warm feeling inside that I adore" I explain calmly.

Bendy continues to face the sun, watching the sun slowly go down, letting darkness fill above. The warm colors start to fade as the sun lowers down, darkness overfilling by the second.

I turn on the lamp on the corner of the desk, lighting up most of the office.

"Did you enjoy the sunset?" I asked, watching him still staring out the window, acting as the sky sent him into a trance.

"Actually...it was nice" Bendy admitted, not taking his eyes off the dark sky.

I smile softly as I put my things away, getting ready to leave for the day.

Bendy takes his eyes off the sky, his eyes landing on me.

"Are you leaving?"

"Yeah, my shift is done" I answer as I stuff my things in my bag.

Bendy sets himself down from the chair, grabbing his doodles and snatching my bag away from my grip.

"Hey! What are you doing?" I exclaimed.

He ignores my question and places his doodles neatly inside my sketchbook.

"Keep these safe for me" He orders.

I nod my head in response, taking my bag carefully, paranoid I'll ruin his work

"See you later" He waves.

I watch him stroll to his ink puddle. He glances at me one final time tonight, we make eye contact for a second. He breaks the eye contact and steps into the puddle.

I sigh in exhaustion, my droopy eyes checking around for anything I missed.

I turn off my lamp light and head to the door, not caring about the creepy cut-out in my office anymore, deciding it's normal. I leave it in the office tonight.

I make it in my car, start up the engine and drive away. The only thing I can think of was the book, cursing myself for not bargaining with him today. I wonder what I should do about it and if I can trust him.

I decide to leave that for tomorrow, too exhausted to even stress about anything.

I make it home and collapsed on my bed without putting anything away or changing clothes. As I drift off to a peaceful slumber I couldn't help, but hope his visits will be like today from now on.


	8. Chapter 8

"Another day in hell" I muttered, opening the door to my office.

I dragged my feet towards my desk, forcing my exhausted body to move forward. I plop down on my chair, the chair creaks weakly, old age overtaking it.

I turn on my lamp, the light filling in most of the space around, making me feel safer in the light rather than sitting in the dimmed office, the only light source from the morning sunshine coming out from the slightly opened curtain.

I rummage through my bag, searching for the work I need for today. I find them and take them out, neatly stacking them on my desk. I switch on my tablet, taking out the stylus and taking hold of the first outline, getting ready to scan it and send the copy in my tablet.

As I begin my day of hard work, I hear faint chattering, followed up with laughter out in the halls, making me feel a sense of loneliness.

"Maybe I should start hanging out with real people" I considered, missing the company of someone with flesh and bones, someone whose existence isn't made up entirely of ink.

I decide to hang out in the break room once it hits noon, needing the company of others desperately.

While working I couldn't help, but wonder if Bendy will visit today. I drifted off into my thoughts about the inkling, recalling of his little tricks to scare me and his threatening visits. I started to pray hard that he wouldn't drop by, still terrified of him, even if he did treat me nicer last time he visited.

I hear a soft knock at my door, snapping me back to reality. I lift myself up and approach my door, gripping onto the knob. I open it slightly, only enough to see who was on the other side.

"Oh, hey Mark!" I greet surprised, pushing the door opened completely.

I observe the man in front of me, noticing his slouch and bags under his eyes. I hoped he was okay, worrying he might be pushing himself too much.

"So, do you need anything?" I question.

"Actually I was wondering if you would like to chill out in the break room today"

He gives me a gentle and patient smile, making me feel as I can't say no to his offer due to his kindness and patience with me.

"Yeah, that sounds like fun" I agree happily, excited to spend time with actual people.

"Great! I'll meet you there at noon"

He waves goodbye, acting as he was a child that made his first friend in school. I giggle at his behavior as he shuffles to his office, seeming like a zombie as he dragged his half-asleep body to work.

"Is he ok?" I worried. May not be good friends, but I liked the guy enough to worry about his well-being.

I shut the door silently, avoiding disturbing the other exhausted animators this early in the morning.

I get back to my desk and get straight back into work, time flying by as I work hard and work happy.

I set down the stylus and lean back on my chair, letting my wrist take a break before I get a cramp.

I grab my bag and set it down onto my lap, searching throughout the inside for my phone. I feel it and take it out, putting my bag back where it was. I turn it on, taking note of the time.

"Woah, it's 10:30 already? can't believe its already been 2 hours" I exclaimed, feeling my excitement grow as I realize it will be noon soon.

I start to fantasy my time with Mark, imagining me laughing, experiencing happiness and safety around my co-workers.

I don't have to be with an ink thing today and feel scared, always on guard around him, never relaxing whenever he is around. A shiver goes down my body, recalling the times where he sent fear throughout my body, feeling puny and weak compared to the inkling, especially when I know he can form into a tall, menacing version of himself.

I shake my head, shaking those thoughts away, replacing those negative emotions tied to those memories with positive ones, forcing my brain to think of the good times in my past. The more I reminisce about the past, the calmer and blessed I felt.

I notice the stiffness around my body relax more and more each second, putting a small smile on my face.

I snap myself back into reality, picking up my stylus and working away, distracting myself from my worrying thoughts.

I watch the time on my phone, eagerly waiting for it to be noon. As soon as it hit noon I put my work stuff away and skip down the break room.

I enter the break room, greeted with the strong smell of fresh coffee, the ink that stained on every animator, as if the ink was part of their skin and sweat from the hard-working staff. all of the smells combined, creating this odor that I could barely stand.

I shut my eyes as I cover my mouth with my hands, gagging a bit. I pull myself together and scan around for Mark, struggling to find him in the cramped room, barely any space for me to move around.

As I continue scanning the room a hand waving in the distance grabs my attention. I struggle my way towards, avoiding bumping into everyone that I pass by.

'Someone really needs to expand this room' I complain to myself as I squeeze my way through this crowd.

I spot him in a corner of the room alone, holding a mug half-filled with coffee. He lowers his hand to his side, giving me a gentle smile as I approach him.

"Hey, man!" I wave, glancing at the cut-out next to him, reminding me of the demon.

"Hey, Ben! Hope it wasn't too hard to find me. I would have stayed put at the entrance, but I decided to keep this little devil company" " he laughs, patting on the top of the cut-out next to him.

I laugh uneasy, a sense of distress fills me by just the sight of anything resembling the demon and my worries about how he's eagerly waiting for my task to be completed.

"Anyways" he speaks up, taking one final glance at the cut-out before making eye contact with me.

"Am I the only one to notice this awful stench in here or am I just crazy?" He asks jokingly.

"I felt the smell hit my nose as soon as I walked in. The smell is intense" I laugh out, Mark laughing along with me.

"Should we leave this cramped and smelly area?"

"Yes, please"

Mark chugs the rest of the coffee and places it with the other dirty mugs, adding to the massive pile that desperately needs a wash.

We walk together, side by side to my office. We chat away, talking about random topics to fill in the awkward silence from time to time.

"So, do you have any hobbies?" I asked, opening the door to my office and inviting him in.

"Well," he starts off as we sit by my desk, the second chair still in place from yesterday.

"This might sound weird, but I enjoy wandering this studio" he admits, earning a puzzled look from me.

"Really? This place doesn't seem too big, almost nothing to explore"

"Actually, there's more to this place than you think"

He pauses, glancing behind at the cut-out. confusion grows more, wondering why he decided to randomly check out the cut-out.

"One day I grew bored and decided to explore around. I have a past of exploring my workplace, I feel safer knowing the routes for exits. Call me paranoid, but I always feel the need to know of any and all exits, just in case something happens"

I focus on him, not breaking the eye contact, wanting to hear what he's explored in this haunted studio.

"As I walked along the halls I noticed a hallway I've never been in before. I entered this dimmed hall, it was filled with more ink stains I've ever seen in this place. I go deeper and deeper down the eerie hall. As I approach the end I'm greeted with another hallway"

He pauses, taking a minute to recollect his thoughts.

"I wander down the hall and find the projector room. I go inside and find Mr. Drew acting real strange, he was just mumbling to himself as he was watching old Bendy cartoons, a cut-out placed next to him"

I start to feel creeped out at this point, worried about what might happen next in his adventure.

"I walk up to him and place my hand on his shoulder, asking him if he's okay. He didn't even turn to face me, he just said he was okay with such a monotone voice. Just talking about it is making me uncomfortable"

He shifts in his chair and crossed his arms, getting comfortable and giving us both a moment to take it all in. He clears his voice, containing the eye contact we've had throughout this tale.

"After a few moments of standing there I decided to leave, but when I was at the door he suddenly spoke up, asking me an odd question"

"What did he ask?" I questioned.

"He asked if I believed in gods. I answered by saying that I'm not sure what I believed in. He told me that I should start, he demanded that I sacrifice some of my personal belongings to appease the gods"

I bite my bottom lip, eagerly waiting for him to continue on.

"I awkwardly laughed it off, hoping it was a joke. He didn't laugh along. He just sat there in silence, watching the cartoon. I was about to leave before he stopped me again, asking me another question. This time he asked if I ever wanted to be like a god and if I ever wanted to create life"

"God, this is way too weird" I admit.

"I agree" nodding his head.

"I answered by saying no. He just scoffed, saying that was too bad. As I went out the door I heard him say something that just weird. He said, If you ever change your mind about creating life, come to me. "

My jaw hits the floor, caught off guard with this weird adventure he had.

"If I were you I would avoid our boss, I wouldn't be able to talk to that weirdo" I warned.

"I have been, but every time we pass in the halls he gives me a cold, dangerous look as he reminds me of his offer. I'm actually a bit scared of him" He confessed, lowering his gaze onto the floor.

"If you ever need someone to protect you I'm here, I won't let him do anything to you" I reassure, giving him a small smile.

He glances up at me and returns the smile. He checks the time, realizing break will be over soon. He said his farewells and runs off to his office.

I'm frozen in my chair, deep in thought about how bizarre Mr, Drew is. I decide to avoid him, nervous I'll experience the same thing Mark did.

I slowly pick up my work, getting ready for when the break is over. As I take a look at my tablet I notice a small note on top. I reach for it, snatching it and read it.

'I see you' followed up with a wide smiley face, sending a chill down my soul.

I put it down and snap my head behind. I jump from my chair and gasp, knocking the chair down. My heart races, staring at the cut-out that was only a few inches away from me.

I grow uneasy as I take hold of it and place it back properly, too scared of upsetting Bendy by facing it towards the wall.

I sit back down, trying to calm my pounding heart and headache. I attempt to work, my thoughts flooded with worry about Bendy.

'Will...will I die?' I worry to myself, imagining the slow, painful death he might have planned for me.

'He's...playing with me, scaring me before he eventually attacks' tears start to fall down onto my face, realizing I might die in this horrible studio.

I slam my fists down, barely controlling the anger and sadness swirling inside.

I wipe my face dry and pick up my stylus, pretending to act fine and normal, attempting to deny anything bad will happen to me.

Throughout the rest of the day, I occasionally checked behind me, noticing the cut-out getting closer and closer each time I look. By the end, I can feel its presence behind me, looming over me as it watched my every move.

It no longer moved and it never attacked. it stayed still, just watching


	9. Chapter 9

I exit my car, slamming the door shut as I face the building that seemed to loom over me, sending a chill down my body as I take in how run-down and abandoned it looked. The sun was beaming down onto the studio, making the flaws easier to point out.

I walk towards the building, taking note of my surroundings. The weeds that grew all over the building, as if the place became a jungle, the paint that faded over the many years, and the worn-out sign that had some faded out letters, no longer spelling out the company name.

I notice the entrance and the two windows placed on each side of the front door, the new and clean appearance not fitting in with the old, rusted look that surrounded.

I take a deep breath, preparing myself for the long day that awaits.

I open the door and enter. As soon as I'm inside I'm greeted with the strong smell of ink and coffee, making me crinkle my nose as the two smells overwhelm me.

I go to the break room, grabbing a glass of water to bring with me and trying to hold my breath to avoid the bitter, burnt smells that got much stronger when I stepped foot in the room filled with workers getting their morning coffee. I leave the room, almost bumping into the clingy, skinny man that was placed by the exit.

He waves and gives me a small smile, not speaking a single word. I wave back confused, not use to the quiet behavior he had this morning.

"You okay?" I asked worriedly.

He opens his mouth to speak but is interrupted by a long yawn.

"Just tired" he answered quietly

He makes eye contact with me with those droopy eyes of his followed by another long yawn as he stretched his body, almost hitting me with his long arm.

After a few moments of awkward and silent eye contact, he waves off and past me. I turn my head and watch him go to the coffee machine, pouring himself a large cup of coffee and chugging it down.

I grow a bit concerned with his zombie-like behavior, knowing it's not healthy to be that exhausted.

I silently wish him the best of luck and turn away, making my way to my office to get the day started.

I turn to the hall with my office and see it in the distance, but grow weary when I notice the light shining from the bottom of my door.

'Who the hell is in my office?'

I stand in front of my door, gripping onto the knob with my clammy hands. I swing open the door, half expecting to see Bendy as I open it.

I'm shocked as I'm faced with Mr. Drew's back. I silently sigh from relief, happy it's not him, but still concerned with why my boss thought it would be a good idea to go through my stuff.

I watch him for a second as he continues to search my desk, not realizing someone is in the same room as him.

I clear my throat, grabbing his attention.

He yelps as he turns his body towards me, his eyes grow wide as soon as he faces me.

"What are you doing? and you better not give me a bullshit answer" I demanded.

He looks around the room, avoiding my killer glare as I wait for an explanation.

"No one has found my book, so I'm searching through everyone's desk. Someone has it, but no one has coughed up the truth. This is the only way to find out who stole it from me" He answered calmly, lacking any guilt for going through everything of mine I left in here.

"By looking through our desks without our permission? You could have at least asked me before barging in here and digging in my desk. This is inappropriate of you"

"I'm the boss, I can do whatever I want in my building" He places his hands on his hips, acting as he owns everything, including our stuff that we bring in from work and place in or desk or leave in our bags.

Before I can mutter out a word he storms out of my office, slamming the door roughly behind him.

'Thank god I didn't leave my bag in here'

I sigh as I look around my space, noticing the mess he made. The papers scattered along the floor, all of the drawers on my desk left opened, and the pens and pencils piled on my desk.

I slowly make my way towards the papers on the floor, starting to clean my mess of an office.

As I was picking up the sheets of paper I noticed something, all of the little notes that Bendy wrote to frighten me were gone.

'Did Mr. Drew take them all?' I wondered to myself.

In the middle of my cleaning, I hear an all too familiar splash.

I lift my head, watching the demon make its way out of the ink puddle.

"Woah, toots. Did you have a tantrum or something?" He joked as he kicked a piece of paper towards me.

"Nope, but my boss did. Mr. Drew decided to rummage through my entire office, I don't even know why!" I lied, snatching the sheet he kicked.

I really didn't want to mention the book, I don't need to remind him that I still owe him that.

After I said that his amused gaze turned into a glare, his smile falling into a frown.

'Oh god, did he notice?' I gulped.

I kept the same lost and angry expression, trying to convince through my expressions instead of more words. I can feel the worry and fear grow more and more inside. I feel as I'm a balloon and someone keeps blowing air into me, making me ready to pop at any moment.

"Well," he begun, turning his frown upside down, almost seeming like his signature smile.

"If I were you I would have thought of a revenge plan by now. Pull a trick on him to teach him a lesson"

My worries are thrown out the window after his joke, relieved he bought that.

I laugh nervously, confused if he was joking or not.

"No no, I can't. I prefer to have a job" I chuckle.

"You're so boring" he whined dramatically.

I continue to clean up the mess, ignoring the demon that continued to whine about my boring personality.

I finished up the floor and moved on to the desk, organizing them in my drawers. As I was near to finishing I notice an inky hand grabbing a few pens from my desk and placing them in the drawer I normally put my pens.

"Bendy, you didn't have t-"

"Don't think I'm being friendly, I'm just bored, so I need you to hurry up" he interrupted.

The appreciation for his help disappeared away after hearing those words. My face starts to get heated, wishing he just said no problem and pretended that he at least felt nice enough to help without wanting something in return.

In the corner of my eye, I notice a sheet of paper I missed. I bend down and reached out for the paper, grabbing hold of a gloved hand instead.

I snap my head up, making eye contact with Bendy.

"Oh...oh god sorry. Didn't know you were going for it too" I squeaked out.

He quickly snatched his hand away from mine, letting out a disgusted sound. I felt my confidence and a shred of happiness I had at this point fade.

"Don't do that again" He warned harshly, stabbing his finger at me.

I nod and went back to cleaning the place. Thoughts of worry about my appearance started to fill my head, unable to shake the thoughts away.

'Am I that disgusting or something?' I worried about myself.

During my worried thoughts, I caught him looking at me for a mere second. He stopped his gaze as soon as I meet his eyes.

For the rest of the cleanup, I stayed silent, a bit scared of what he might say or do if he gave me another warning. While I continued to clean I made sure to be wary of my surroundings, making sure I don't make any contact with him or get in his way.

Bendy continued to help me. I felt no appreciation this time, knowing it's all for his own benefit.

All I could feel was self-hatred for my appearance and crashed from everything that has happened so far in the morning. My energy and happiness were completely drained from my boss and this little hellspawn that seemed to enjoy torturing me mentally.

'Bastard' I curse in my head, glaring at him through the corner of my eye.

I sigh, mentally preparing myself as I finish up. I sat on my chair and watched him go to his chair that still sat on the other side of my desk.

He hopped on with a grin that stretched out on his face, acting as nothing awkward happened between us just a minute ago.

'Wow, now he's pretending like he was never an asshole'

"Wow! that was way too boring, I should have just let you do all of the work" he sneered, letting out a chuckle.

I didn't laugh along. I sat in silence, trying to calm my boiling anger that was brewing inside and waiting for him to suggest something for us to do. Well, what he wants. I have no choice, but to listen. If I don't, who knows what will happen.

He brought his hand to his chin as he thought of something, letting out a loud, obnoxious sound during his thinking process. I flinch from the sudden, loud sound, noticing the large grin that came once again when he noticed my flinch.

'It's like he's trying to annoy me'

I take a few breaths and try to think of fun memories from my past to calm myself. As I think, my patience for Bendy finally restores to normal, most of my anger leaving my body.

"Aha!" He jumps up.

I was startled by the mood change and energetic movement. One moment he was an ass and gave me an attitude, but now he's happy and energetic. I grow frustrated with his behavior at this point, failing to understand anything about this cartoon.

"So...did you think of something to do?" I asked annoyed.

"I thought of a little errand for you!"

Great, just what I needed.

"I want you to go collect ink from the small bottles inside the supply closet" He explained.

I open my mouth to ask why, but he quickly presses his finger to my lip, hushing me into silence. He removes his finger once I stay silent for a good second.

He points towards the dim hall behind me, ordering me to go do the errand. I wander down the hall, searching for the closet.

As I go deeper in the hall I'm left alone with the noises that keep me company throughout the search. As I listen closely to the noises, the more I felt uncomfortable. The ink flowing through the unneeded, large pipes above me, the creaks on the floor each time I took a step, and the booming voice from my lovely boss.

I adventure deeper down the hall, speedwalking through, getting impatient with the search.

Each room I've encountered has been closed off and locked. As I check the last few rooms I start to doubt I'll ever find the closet here, I start to wonder if Bendy knew where it was and that all he did was send me to a wild goose chase for his own entertainment.

I reach the last door, but this one was different. The door was wide open, exposing the barely lit up staircase that got darker and darker the closer it got to the bottom.

I squinted my eyes, trying to make out anything, but barely able to see anything down there. Throughout my distant search down below, a fast, small dark figure runs across the bottom of the staircase, disappearing in the pitch black.

My feet are stuck on this spot, unable to even breath. I hold my breath as I stare down, not understanding what I even saw.

Many therioes rushed into my head; It might be a worker down there, my eyes were just playing tricks on me, a stray animal managed its way down in the basement of this building, or it could be a homeless person that trespassed and has been living down there for some time.

I couldn't pick which one to stick with, my mind was too filled with fear, worry, and curiosity.

I slowly gain control of my body again, forcing my body to slowly make its way beside the door, out of sight from the bottom of the stairs.

When I got into hiding I tried to take some deep breaths, trying to calm myself before I make a decision on what to do.

"Should...should I check that out?" I stutter out to myself.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized how stupid I would have to be to check out a mysterious figure alone in the dark, especially with nothing to defend myself with.

I look around the surroundings of this doorway, noting where to find this room again once I find Mr. Drew to help me investigate.

I dig through my pockets, needing something to signal this is the room.

I find a crumpled up receipt I've had from a few days ago, nothing else. I place it under the door, folded up to fit the wide space under.

I bolt out of the hall, going towards Mr. Drew's office, hoping he can help if there's some kind of trouble that occurs.

As I make it to where I've started I see Bendy still waiting for my return. He jumps up in surprise as he watches me sprint away from where he sent me.

As I'm close to passing him he steps in the middle of the hall, raising his palm at me. I stop right before I crash into him, extremely out of breath, impossible to let out a single word.

"Ok, so why the hell were you sprinting away?" He questions

I raise my finger up, allowing myself a moment to catch my breath.

"I...I think I saw someone down in the basement" I explained, a shudder going down my body.

"Really?" he doubts, a puzzled expression plastered on his face.

"Yes! A dark figure just ran across the room!"

Bendy rolls his eyes, as it was part of my imagination.

"I'm going to get the boss and once he discovers whoever or whatever is down, then you won't think I'm just a scared child with a crazy imagination" I huffed, pushing past him.

He grabs hold of the back of my shirt, pulling me back from my mission.

"Listen, big baby. I'm going to go down there, ok? it's probably just some harmless, dumb animal that got in"

He turned his body and marched towards the basement, holding my shirt as a leash.

"It could be an animal, but what if it tries to attack?"

He let out a chuckle, amused by my paranoia.

"If it tries to do anything to me then I'll just scare it away"

Moments later we're met with the wide-opened door, followed with nothing, but a dim light that lits up nothing, but the small part of the bottom floor.

I check the bottom of the door for my clue that I left. The folded up receipt was gone.

"Look!" I pointed to the bottom of the door, the crime scene of the missing receipt.

"I put a receipt there to mark this was the door, but now it's gone"

"I'm sure it was too thin to even stay there. Someone must have walked past, making it fly out from under" He debunked.

I start to doubt my belief of something down there, almost convinced that my eyes were playing tricks on me.

As I question my mental health, Bendy jumps up suddenly.

"What the hell was that for?!" I jump.

"I actually saw something down there. Maybe you're not crazy, toots" He admits

He slowly goes down the stairs, cautious of everything, even the darkness that surrounded.

I follow him, staying extremely close behind. I cross my arms and grip onto my upper arms, resisting the urge to cling onto the demon for safety.

As we approach the end of the staircase I notice Bendy slowly seeming taller and skinnier the closer we got to the end. By the end, he was this tall, extremely skinny, menacing monster. His eyes were covered by ink that ran down his face, his smile seeming deformed as it stretched way too far, and I can notice almost all of his bones sticking out.

I step back a couple of steps, no longer feeling as safe around him in this form as I recall the time he chased me in that same form. I stay behind on the staircase, watching him scan the room for any threat.

"Stay there, I'm going to try to find a light around here" He searches around, feeling the walls for any switch for the light.

I grow more scared and nervous the further he goes, getting swallowed up by the darkness as I stand alone, exposed by the light above. I felt as I was standing right below a spotlight that's shining down on me as I'm the main attraction for a show.

Bendy completely disappears from the light, feeling as I was the only one here. The only comfort I had that I wasn't alone with something else in here was the shuffling from his feet and the dragging against the walls.

I debated with myself about if I should leave this problem to him or if I should stay to be supportive and not wanting to piss him off. I decide to stay, mostly the reason not wanting to piss him off.

I hear the door above slam, getting rid of the extra light from the brighter hall. I feel my heart stop, no longer hearing any background noise, just staring as I process what happened.

I slowly turn my body towards the shut door, silently hoping I was just hearing things. I gaze upon the shut door, unable to tear my gaze from it.

Our way out was gone and something just closed it on us.


	10. Chapter 10

My feet are glued to the ground, fixated at the door as I to process what happened.

"Did...did you close the door?" Bendy squeaks out.

"No" I answer quietly.

I look around me, the darkness swallowing me up. I squint my eyes, just wanting to see anything.

I felt unsafe and vulnerable like this, anything can grab me without a warning.

Bendy quickens his shuffling, his steps more urgent and desperate.

Those shuffles are the only thing keeping me from freaking out, knowing that someone was here with me.

I hear the shuffling getting closer as he continued on. Soon I feel a hand grab my shoulder.

I yelp and jump away from the hand.

"Hey, it's just me" Bendy reassures.

I let out a sigh of relief, instantly calming down.

"Sorry, I just can't see anything so I had no idea who grabbed me" I apologized.

"Are you on the stairs still?"

"Yes"

"Good. I need you to move over, I'm coming up. Maybe I can break open the door"

I hear the first creak of the stairs, followed with slow, careful steps. I get pushed lightly to the side, allowing him to pass by.

The creaks become more distant the more he climbed up. I hear the jiggle of the doorknob, followed by a long groan from Bendy.

"No luck?" I ask.

"What do you think?"

I cross my arms and shut my mouth, resisting the urge to snap back.

I hear loud slams coming from the door.

I knew it was Bendy, but the guy still freaked me out a bit. I have no reason to trust him.

I climb down the staircase and move to the side.

As I'm approaching the staircase I feel something hit my forehead. I reach up, grabbing onto something long. I pull down on it. The bulb lights up a small circle round me, not helping with the darkness too much.

Even though it wasn't much, it was much better than being in the complete darkness.

The slams come to a stop.

I check up, the hope of us escaping rising as my gaze went higher and higher.

It was still closed.

Bendy paused, taking a breather as he observed his surroundings, and then his gaze fell down at me.

"Since you have light now, I suggest you look for a weapon" He turned his back on me again, lifting his hand for another blow to the door.

"Because whatever closed the door on us might be in the same room as us" He adds before continuing.

I choke, feeling my entire body stiffen. I rush to the middle of the light, hugging my body as I scan the void for any threats.

I quickly search the room for anything that can be used as a weapon. My eyes land on some sort of a handle that barely reached the light.

I cautiously step towards it, hoping nothing will tear off my arm as I bring it closer to the pitch black that it was hidden in.

I grab hold of the mysterious handle and quickly pull it towards my chest. Security rushed through my body as I observe the object that was in my grasp.

It was a wooden baseball bat, occupied by a variety of cracks and dust. It aged along with the place, but it was better than standing here defenseless.

I'm stuck on the middle of the circle, whirling around to keep guard.

I hear a grunt from the stairs. I throw my head up at the sound. I watch as Bendy let his arms fall to his sides in defeat.

He climbs down the stairs and joins me in my safety circle.

"So...now what?" I implored, the desperation to get out of here rising by the second.

"I don't know!" He hissed.

"Hey, I'm just scared, I want to get out of here as soon as possible. No need for an attitude"

"How about instead of me coming up with an escape, you can help out for once"

"You know wh-"

I was interrupted by a low grumble.

Both of our mouths snap shut, whipping our heads towards the side of the room, listening for any movement or sound.

I tense up, lifting the bat to the side, ready to swing.

Bendy and I backed up against each other, back to back.

"Stay sharp, something is here with us" He warned, observing around cautiously.

I stay silent, not daring to even let out a single peep.

A low groan echo around me. My eyes widen as I stare into the dark, trying to locate the thing that stalked us.

"Did...did you hear that?" I trembled.

"Shh, be quiet!"

I spin around, unable to spot anything due to the little light source we have.

I feel Bendy move around violently without any warning, making me swing my bat randomly into the darkness all around.

"What happened?!" I yelled out.

"An arm came out trying to attack me" He panted.

Right after a black, damp, dripping arm comes for me, giving me a long scratch across the middle of my arm.

I hiss out, watching the blood slowly escape out of the thin cut.

"Something attacked me!" I trembled.

"Calm down! we aren't going to die or anything!"

I shakily lift the bat up to my side again, ignoring the sting from my arm as I listen around carefully.

I glance back at him, noticing an arm about to grab onto him from behind.

I rush to his side and hit the arm harshly, sending it back from where it came from.

"Listen, I know you hate me, but we have to have each other's backs. We need to work together to survive here!" I yell out as I scan my surroundings with the bat, lifted to my side for another swing.

Bendy nodded in agreement.

I return behind him, back to back, this time protecting each other from whatever is trying to kill us.

The creature charged at us from every angle, barely dodging the attacks.

Bendy and I protected each other, hitting it away.

Bendy was able to continue with no injury, always defending himself right on time. I, on the other hand, had many scratches, big and small down my legs. I ignored the stings as I continued on with the fight.

"What's the plan?!" I pant.

The bat in my grasp starts to shake slightly, struggling to keep my arms from falling to my side. The desperation got stronger the more energy I used up.

"I don't know! It's hard to think when something keeps coming out and attacking you!" He snaps back.

"I get you're mad, but this really isn't the time to-"

The creature rushed out, it's an entire body into view, the light shining down on his ink-filled, small, featureless body. I yelp and introduced it to my bat, causing it to retreat back.

"This is no time to argue!" I repeat myself.

Bendy growls slightly, mumbling to himself.

"Ok! I thought of something" He began, pausing to slash at the creature that closed in on him.

"We need to get out of the circle and explore the room to look for anything that we can use to smash open the door. I'm not strong enough to"

"Are you crazy! We can't see anything out of this circle!"

Without any debate Bendy step foot out of the circle. I rush after him, staying close behind him as he searches.

I thrash the bat around in the void, paranoid it will attack any second.

I throw my arm behind, prepared for another hit to the air, but I'm interrupted by a great pain going down my leg.

I kicked off the hand, whimpering at the new injury that joined the series of scratches all over. I wasn't sure how many there were, but I knew it was more than a few, judging by the amount of pain I'm in.

I hear Bendy's hand bump into something, making it fall against the cold, hard floor with a clank.

Bendy bends down to the ground, reaching all around the floor for the mysterious object, eventually grabbing hold onto it and feeling it, determining what the object is.

"I...I think this is a pipe!" He exclaims.

He stands back up, putting his hand on my shoulder, stopping me from making any movements.

"Ok, now we need to go to the stairs fast. I'm gonna use the pipe to break open the door, I need you to cover me though"

I nod, while I mentally prepare myself to dash and attack.

Bendy sprints towards the stairs without a warning, leaving me a bit behind. I force my body to start up, barely catching up to this speed demon.

We make it to the stairs, but we're greeted by the small monster emerging from the puddle in front. I run towards it, throwing the bat down at it. Once it recovers I lead it away from the stairs, allowing myself to be the bait as Bendy works on our escape.

As I fight to survive I start to struggle extremely, barely able to lift up my arm.

I limp away, almost in reach of the desperate hand inching closer rapidly.

I hiss with each step I take, the pain almost impossible to tolerate as the adrenaline fades from my body.

Soon I'm at the circle, meeting up with another groaning creature. I shriek, taking the pain as I limp faster, circling back to the stairs.

I look up at Bendy, looking up at him with hope and desperation in my eyes.

I approach the stairs and grab hold onto the rail, helping myself to climb up. The two creatures followed close behind, not stopping for anything.

I make it to the top and spin around, facing the creatures, hands reaching out as they climb towards us, almost able to grasp on and throw me down. I kick them down the stairs, watching them tumble down and let out a deafening cry.

I lean against the railing and squint down below with my heavy eyes, struggling to catch my breath.

I feel myself drifting off slowly. As I'm about to lose my grip and collapse I hear a loud crack coming from behind, light emanating from the now broken door.

I slowly turn my body, facing our escape and the smiling demon who was celebrating.

Bendy faces me, smiling ear to ear. I smile weakly back, his wide smile falling down slightly.

"Hey, you alright, toots?" He worried.

"Yeah, I'm ok. Just a bit tired" I mumbled.

He sighs quietly and steps out of the dark, haunted basement. I stumble behind, using the rail and the wall to keep myself stable.

I look up at him, noticing the smile gone from his face, instead, he had a frown this time.

"Ok, you're clearly not fine. Don't lie to me when you're like this, I don't need you to collapse on me"

Before I muttered out a word he picked me up, carrying me bridal style down the hall and towards my office.

He sneaks down the halls, hiding in the dark corners to those who littered the halls for a minute before walking off to somewhere else.

When the coast was clear he would jog his way, not wasting any time for what might be the only opportunity to make a break for it.

Soon we're met with my door. Bendy pauses, thinking of how he can open the door with me still in his arms.

After a few moments of hard thinking, he gives up, placing me gently on the floor and picking me back up once he opens it.

He makes his way inside, kicking the door shut behind him.

He carries me to my chair and places me down slowly, acting as I'm fragile enough to shatter from one wrong move.

"Thanks, Bendy. It was nice of you to do this" sending him a thankful smile.

All I get in return was him crossing his arms and glaring at me, making me gulp for what might come next

"You can't just lie like that, you could have really hurt yourself if you managed to fall down the stairs. I wouldn't be surprised if you did, you could barely stand by the end of it" He snapped.

"What's the big deal? I'm fine" I huffed out, avoiding eye contact with the fuming demon.

He sighs heavily.

"You're lucky I was there to even help you"

"I would have been fine" I mumble.

"Really now? So you're saying that if I left with my puddle that you would have made it out alive?"

I gasp out, realization hitting me.

"Why...why did you even stay?"

"I'm not a monster, I won't just leave you to die. I stayed to help you escape. A thank you would be appreciated instead of you acting like a stubborn child"

Guilt waved over me, knowing I'm only alive now because of him. He could have left, but he stayed to help. Maybe he really isn't a monster

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize that you saved me. I'm just tired and still scared out of my mind from that"

I put my hand on him weakly, grabbing his attention.

"Thank you, I owe you my life" giving him a genuine smile.

He smiles slightly and nods.

The tension disappears, my body and mind finally relaxing.

I pull myself up from the chair, struggling to pull my body up with my weak, shaky arms.

I slouch, too tired to straighten out.

I take a step, the world spinning around me. I struggle to breathe, feeling as someone is sitting on top of my chest.

My vision blurs for a moment, but once it returns I'm faced with Bendy, him holding me in his arms.

"Woah, are you okay?" He asked startled.

I look around, regaining my thoughts. A few seconds roll by with no idea what happened, but a second later I realized what happened.

"Ah, sorry. Looks like I got too tired from that fight"

He lifts up my body, placing me back down on my chair.

"Are you hurt?" He worried.

"No, I'm fine. All I need is some water, food and rest. Then I'll be back to normal" I reassure.

For a minute he looks at me, saying nothing. A second later he speeds to an ink puddle that appeared in my office.

Before entering the puddle he stops, slowly returning back to his small, cartoon devil form he as before.

By the end, he looked exhausted. He was panting, ink dripping down slightly, and his eyelids only half-opened.

He catches his breath and enters the puddle.

'is...is he coming back?' I wondered to myself as I lay my head down onto my desk.

I feel my eyelids fall down, impossible to stay awake any longer.

I shot my head up and force my eyes opened, remembering where I am.

'Forget I was working. Hard to remember that after a terrifying battle with weird, inky things'

I shudder at the memories from the basement, never wanting to even go in the same hall as that dangerous room.

I debate whether I should leave early today or not.

During my debate Bendy returns with a handful of items in his arms.

He struggles to my desk, balancing everything as he walked to keep it from falling.

He makes it to my desk and jumps up, piling up everything onto my desk.

I observe the pile, noticing that every item here was food and drinks.

I turn my head quickly at him, surprised by this gesture.

"Did you bring these for me?" resisting to act too shocked, not wanting to ruin his gesture.

He nodded.

"Only because you refuse to actually take care of yourself. I prefer you alive" He added.

He took a seat next to me and gazed at me, chuckling, amused by the scene of me grabbing hold of a sandwich and shoving it down my throat.

I continue to eat the buffet he brought, ignoring his banter as I ate.

I pause,

"When you form does it take up a lot of energy?" I asked.

"Yeah. It takes some amount of ink as well. I need some extra ink to reform into the taller version and whenever I form back into the smaller, more cartoon version, it tires me out quite a lot"

I nod and continue back to eating.

The room was silent, too tired to make conversation.

"Maybe you should go home for the day" He speaks up.

I shake my head violently, staying glued to my seat. My main reason to stay was money, even if it meant I had to stay in this condition.

'You can't stay here like this, your body desperately needs rest. Going home would be best" He urged.

I swallowed my food and considered the suggestion. I give in, agreeing with the demon.

I finish up most of the food and drinks, energy refueled a bit to help with my drained body.

I thank Bendy again, earning the usual dismiss from him.

I walk out the door to my office with my bag in hand, shuffling to Mr. Drew's office to make up an excuse.

'I'll just say I'm feeling sick' I conclude.

I make it there and knock on his door, entering once I hear him a mumble. I lie to his face, explaining that I was feeling sick and needed to go home.

He rolled his eyes, mumbling something under his eyes. He allowed me to leave, making a celebration go off in my head.

I drop by my office, saying goodbye to Bendy before I leave.

I open the exit door and step outside, happily greeted by the fresh air that hit my face. I smile slightly as I felt the tension fly away in this environment, the breeze blowing my problems away.

I sit in my car and place my bag in the front seat beside me. I start up the engine but look back at the studio before heading off.

I notice Bendy looking out at me through one of the front windows. I smile and wave to him, he returns the gesture and resumes to watch.

I back up from my parking space and drive away, going home with the traumatic memories the studio has brought me.


	11. Chapter 11

I sit on my bed, recreating memories of the basement, wondering what the hell happened to the studio. What happened? What made them? What made Bendy? Are there other dangerous monsters lurking deep down in the studio?

The headache stops my anxious wondering.

I lay my back against the soft fabric of my blanket, staring at the ceiling, trying to think of anything to do. I couldn't hang out with my roommate, she's gone. She was never here anyways, always out somewhere with friends or her boyfriend. Pretty much doesn't exist at this point.

Maybe Mark. I cringe at the thought of hanging out with him, especially since he's gotten so clingy. We're not even really friends, mostly co-workers, but that doesn't stop him from trying to butt into my personal life.

After a minute of silence, I sit up from comfort and get on my feet, trying to boot up my body for a semi-productive day. I change out of my pajamas and into my somewhat, decent comfy clothes, not caring about impressing anyone today. I then grab my bag, laptop, and keys, walking out the door and walking down the apartment building staircase.

I exit the building and walk towards my nearest coffee shop, in desperate need of a delicious cold drink. A small smile forming on my face at the thought of my addiction.

I enter the shop and order my drink, followed by my last-minute decision of a bagel to go with it. I grab my food and drink, scanning for a place to sit. I find a quiet corner, filled with the warm sunshine. I sit down and open my laptop, taking a bite of my bagel as I wait for it to load up. I stare at my screen, not knowing what to do. An idea pops in my head.

I click on Google Chrome and type away. 'Sillyvision Studios experience'. In search of anyone that has seen what I have. I carefully look over each result that pops up, hoping to find what I'm looking for. I continue to eat my food as I scroll.

I search through the first and second page of the results, but I find nothing, only finding articles filled with criticism for the studio, employees, cartoon and some blogs about how they trespassed the property back when it was abandoned and heard some sounds inside, no explanation on what it was or if they saw anything.

I lean back on my chair, feeling defeat and insane. Insane from everything I've seen, the things that made me question superstition and god, making me question my mental stability. I close the tab and take a long sip of my drink, taking a break from everything.

In the middle of my drink, I notice a familiar figure in the line. I look up, making eye contact with Mark. A smile grows on his face as he waves at me. I wave back with a small smile.

I don't hate him, he's just a bit clingy and energetic. I mentally prepare myself for this interaction, barely having the energy for a conversation. Mark skips towards me with his daily gallon of coffee in his hand.

"Hi, Ben! It's so nice to see you here. Now I won't have to be a loner here" he jokes.

I laugh along, slowly feeling better about having some company.

"So what's up? Plan on staying here all day?" He asks.

"I'm not sure. I wouldn't be surprised though, it's hard to go even five minutes without my precious drink" I chuckle.

As he chugs down his drink, I get an idea.

"Hey" I speak up, grabbing his attention.

"Have you..." I pause, hesitant to ask.

The desperation for answers made up my mind.

"Have you noticed anything weird in the studio?"

He pauses, staring at me puzzled.

"Uh, what do you mean by weird?"

"Like...weird sounds. Maybe footsteps or creepy notes" I elaborate.

He shifts in his chair slightly, gazing at his brew coffee.

"Uh, no, nothing weird about the studio" he answers.

I sigh, tired of being the only one who knows about the walking ink demon in the studio. All I want are some answers.

"Sorry for asking, it's just that I've seen some blogs about some weird experiences at the studio" I lied, trying to save my image.

His eyes return to me.

"Wait, really? Like what?" He asks excitedly.

I nod and open my laptop screen, greeted with Chrome. I quickly type "Sillyvision Studios experience" again and click on the third page, not bothering backtracking.

When the third result page loads up I noticed a blog titled, "I think there's someone or something in the studio", I click on it. Mark brings his chair closer to mine, his side pressed up against mine. We both silently read, taking in everything the person wrote.

"Sillyvision Studios has something living inside. So I was walking home from work and I was about the pass Sillyvision like I normally do, but every time I pass it, I hear some kind of sounds coming from in there. It's distant, but I still get curious. I always assumed it was homeless people living in there, but this one night I got too curious and decided to peer in through one of the side windows"

"I dash across the yard and stop in front of the window. Praying I don't accidentally come face-to-face with a homeless person, I peer in and at first, I see nothing, but after a few moments this...thing emerges from the wall."

I shudder, knowing exactly who they saw.

"It was really dark so I can't be sure what I saw, there was only a dim light from the hall, but I swear I saw it come from the wall. This dark, towering figure comes out and stands there for...I don't even know for how long, I was in too much in shock to even think. I was just staring at it"

"Finally it moves, limping around the room, almost like it was searching for something. After it searches around the room, it limps its way towards the open door, leading to what I assumed was the hallway. As it comes closer to the dim light, I see more of it."

"I can see the bones sticking out from it's deathly, skinny body, the black surrounding it and it's sharp fingers. I couldn't see its face, until it froze and whipped it's head towards the window. I didn't get the chance to see exactly what its face looked like, I had to run for it."

"I ran all the way home, terrified to even look back. I'm not even sure what I saw. I keep telling myself it's just a really tall homeless guy wearing all black, but in the back of my mind, I wonder if it was possible that I saw a demon. I believe in superstition so it didn't seem too crazy to me, but I am a bit doubtful of that possibility."

"It's been a few days, but I still can't get that out of my mind."

It ends there.

I grow uneasy and uncomfortable, recalling the first time I saw that chilling form of his.

'Someone who actually saw something. I'm not the only one' I think to myself.

I turn to Mark, waiting for him to finish reading.

He leans back in his chair.

"Wow...that was some experience this person had. Thankfully it's fake, imagine if there was an actual demon at the studio" he laughs out.

I sink, my hope of him believing it and willing to talk about it with me, was crushed hard. I forced myself to laugh along.

"Stories like these are super interesting though, especially when you work at the place"

I agree with him, hiding my disappointment. Then we sit in silence, drinking our beverages with the sun beaming down on us.

"Mr. Drew is weird though" he speaks up.

"And has one hell of a temper " I add-in.

"Tell me about it. In my opinion, that man is way too obsessed with Bendy. When I go to his office, most of the time he's not there, I always find him in the projector room watching Bendy. The times when he is actually in his office, he's either watching Bendy on his laptop or writing about him."

"Writes about Bendy?" I ask.

"Yeah, I saw it. All I remember is one of the sheets that said, "The future of Bendy" He explains.

"He saw me look at it and quickly snatched it away, he looked at me really weird, almost a threatening look. It's like he believes that Bendy is real."

Could Mr. Drew know about Bendy? How would I even bring that up? Is he crazy or going through what I am?

I start to consider somehow bringing up the topic of Bendy with Mr. Drew, I need to know if he has seen the demon. Maybe if he knows, we can stop Bendy together. Guilt washed over me for a second, recalling when Bendy saved my life back in the basement, making me consider what I was thinking of doing seem cruel.

My mixed thoughts and feelings were interrupted by a warm, gentle touch, sending me back into this complicated reality. I feel a gentle touch on my shoulder, making me look up in surprise. His grip never tightened as he stared, making me feel as he was analyzing my expression. "You okay? You seem troubled"

"Yeah, sorry, just got lost in space for a minute" I reassure with a gentle smile.

He smiles back, his smile seeming filled with more concern than reassurance.

He suddenly gasps, digging through his jean pocket for something. A second later he pulls out his phone and turns it on, the panic was written all over.

"I got to go! I'm supposed to meet up with my mom in like 5 minutes" he panics as he lifts himself from the chair quickly and runs off, sending me a wave at the door as he sprints.

I sit there in dumbfounded, the situation happening way too fast to even process. I'm left alone now, alone with my thoughts once again. Unless you count my drink as company.

My eyes land on the screen in front of me, scanning the open tab with the blog, searching for any contact information. Unfortunately, I find nothing to contact them. I favorite the tab and close it, needing a mental break from anything work or Bendy related.

I dig through my bag and pull out my earbuds, putting them in my ears and then into my laptop, watching videos on Youtube to escape my problems. As I watch I notice the weather changed. The warm sunshine covered by dark, cold clouds, and the air becoming damp and cold.

As the last ray of sunshine is covered, I feel as my ray of sunshine had been covered too. The recent events covering up any light and warmth in my life. Life now cold and damp, filled with confusion and fear.

In the middle of my video, I hear a vibration in my pocket. I pause my video and quickly take out my phone, reading the caller I.D. Mr. Drew. I sigh deeply, expecting to be asked to come into work on my bloody day off. I click accept.

"Hello?" I greet.

"Ah, so glad you picked up! Can you come in today? I'm a little short on staff today" he explained with an awkward chuckle at the end.

I hesitate for a moment, debating with myself if I should go or not.

I agree to come in, only for the extra money.

I pack up my things and head home.

I unpack what I don't need and as I'm about to head out the door, the thought of the book stops me, wondering if I should bring it. I shove it in my bag and head out in my car, silently hoping today won't be chaotic. I park in front of the building. The building's appearance has improved. The lawn is neatly cut, accompanied by fresh, green grass.

'Now it looks less terrifying" I joked to myself.

I walk in, greeting those in the halls as I make my way towards my office, earning many tired greetings back, almost convincing me that the zombie apocalypse was here.

I set my bag down and organize my desk, getting ready to start off the afternoon. As I'm near finished, I feel a breath down my neck. I quickly run to the side of my desk, hitting my legs on the edge of the and whip my head around. Nothing in sight.

A shaky breath escapes my mouth as I scan the room, trying to find the cause of that breath. I find nothing, but that creepy cut-out again. I frown at the sight. I hesitate to turn my back.

'But I have to get to work' I tell myself.

So I slowly turn my back and get back to organizing.

I placed the last item down on my now neat desk, admiring my organization and productively. I drag my chair towards me and take a seat. I grab my supplies and work the day away. In the middle of my job, I hear the familiar, childish giggle behind me. I feel my body tense up, almost as if I was a statue, frozen in place. I slowly turn my body and caught sight of the little devil leaning against the wall, right beside the cut-out of him.

"I had no idea you had such a handsome friend in here" He joked, gesturing to the cut-out.

I nervously laugh, my heart pounding against my chest.

Would he leave me alone if I gave him the book?

As he walks towards me, I reach and grab my bag, digging through for the book. I pull it out and shakily held it, not making eye contact. I quickly drop it in front of him. "Here...I...I found it. I did what you wanted." I trembled, now realizing how stupid of a decision that was. I shouldn't have let my desperation get in the way of rationality.

The silence was almost unbearable, I wanted nothing more than a sound to be made or for him to take the book and leave. A few moments pass and I hear his slow steps getting closer and closer. I couldn't find the courage to look up, I can only listen. I hear the pages of the book flipping quick, then a loud shut from the book.

"You finally managed to find it, huh? Took you long enough." He criticized.

I felt my blood boil at the ungratefulness, cursing him to hell inside my head.

"Looks like I won't need you...for now"

"Wait, there might be more tasks?!" I cried out.

He chuckled. "Of course, do you think I'm going to let my little helper go so soon?" He grins sinisterly as he steps towards me, stopping an inch away. He lifts my chin up, forcing eye contact between us, but he is nothing but a blur due to my watery eyes.

"You're not done yet, Ben"


End file.
